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Symbols
Lina’s drawings create an important connection between her life back home in Lithuania and her life in the Communist labor camps of Siberia. As she continues to sketch wherever she can—in the dirt on the train, on handkerchiefs, on scraps of paper—she recalls moments when her drawings brought her praise (such as when she was admitted to an art program) and when they brought her scolding (when her father discovers her caricatures of Stalin). Drawing is what maintains constancy in Lina’s life, despite her location or situation. Her drawings are also a way for Lina to connect with her father—Lina hopes that by documenting her journey through sketches, the drawings may one day make their way to Kostas such that he can determine where she, Elena, and Jonas have been imprisoned. The artist Edvard Munch, best known for his painting “The Scream,” particularly inspires Lina. Like Munch, Lina seeks to use her drawings to convey her emotions and view of the world, rather than a realistic image of what the world looks like. Lina’s drawings symbolize her humanity and determination to have hope for the future despite the misery of her current situation.
Drawing Quotes in Between Shades of Gray
The Between Shades of Gray quotes below all refer to the symbol of Drawing. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 11
Quotes
“You’re very brave to have come. You must all stay together. I know you’ll take good care of your sister and mother while I am away.”
“I will, Papa, I promise,” said Jonas. “When will we see you?”
Papa paused. “I don’t know. Hopefully soon.”
I clutched the bundle of clothes. Tears began dropping down my cheeks.
“Don’t cry, Lina. Courage,” said Papa. “You can help me.”
“Do you understand?” My father looked at Andrius, hesitant. “You can help me find you,” he whispered. “I’ll know it’s you…just like you know Munch. But you must be very careful.”
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Chapter 22
Quotes
The man who wound his watch approached me.
“Do you have a handkerchief I could borrow?” he asked.
I nodded and quickly handed him the hankie, neatly folded to conceal my writing…The man patted his brow with the handkerchief before putting it in his pocket. Pass it along, I thought, imagining the hankie traveling hand to hand until it reached Papa.
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Chapter 41
Quotes
My art teacher had said that if you breathed deeply and imagined something, you could be there. You could see it, feel it. During our standoffs with the NKVD, I learned to do that. I clung to my rusted dreams during the times of silence. It was at gunpoint that I fell into every hope and allowed myself to wish from the deepest part of my heart. Komorov thought he was torturing us. But we were escaping into a stillness within ourselves. We found strength here.
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Chapter 62
Quotes
“Look at me,” whispered Andrius, moving close. “I’ll see you,” he said. “Just think about that. Just think about me bringing you your drawings. Picture it, because I’ll be there.”
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Get the entire Between Shades of Gray LitChart as a printable PDF.
Drawing Symbol Timeline in Between Shades of Gray
The timeline below shows where the symbol Drawing appears in Between Shades of Gray. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 10
...in the train car, and imagines it to be a rolling coffin. She begins to draw in the dirt on the floor to pass the time. People speculate as to where...
(full context)
...listening to a librarian tell a fantastical story. As she listens to the tale, Lina draws the dragon and princess being described. She is so absorbed in her drawing that she...
(full context)
Chapter 11
...it. Kostas tells his children to have courage, and he tells Lina to use her drawings “like Munch” to help him track her down eventually. Munch, Lina’s favorite artist, has a...
(full context)
Chapter 13
...museum, and is enchanted by its subtleties. As soon as she gets home, she starts drawing and tries to create the blended charcoal technique. Back in the present, this memory makes...
(full context)
Chapter 16
...a flashback memory, Lina recalls when her teacher held her after class to show her drawings she had pulled out of the trash. Though Lina thinks she is in trouble for...
(full context)
Chapter 17
...others do the same. Suddenly, she realizes she can use the handkerchief to make a drawing indicating her whereabouts, and pass it along in the hopes it reaches her father. Meanwhile,...
(full context)
Chapter 18
...due to lice and the inability to move or wash. She passes the time by drawing images on the handkerchief—pictures that her father would be able to recognize as done by...
(full context)
Chapter 19
...She misses her father terribly, and imagines his smiling face. In a flashback, she recalls drawing a portrait of her father. They discuss her cousin Joana, who wants to be a...
(full context)
Chapter 22
...Lina comes over and discreetly asks her to borrow a handkerchief. Lina hands him the drawings, and he walks away with it. Lina knows he will pass it along in the...
(full context)
Chapter 24
...depicted as throwing paper airplanes at him. Kostas demands to know if there are more drawings like this, and Lina replies that there aren’t. Kostas is furious, because he is afraid...
(full context)
Chapter 25
...in the grass with Andrius. She notes his strong jaw line, and wishes she could draw him. He notes her looking at him, and gives her the beautiful stone he found...
(full context)
Chapter 29
...are at a soccer match. Lina reminds Elena that she also needs some charcoal for drawing.
(full context)
...she could talk to Kostas to answer all her questions. She also wishes she could draw the landscape and show it to him. Elena returns, and the family heads back to...
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Chapter 30
...only to speak to each other, and for Lina to be careful with what she draws.
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Chapter 32
...put anything dangerous in writing, and Lina guiltily thinks about her pages of writing and drawing. Elena hints to Mrs. Rimas that she has a “contact” who might help her out,...
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Chapter 37
...sent. The letter is tacked up next to the man—on it is a very crude drawing of a map with just a few lines. Lina thinks of her own detailed diagrams...
(full context)
Chapter 38
...rent. While Elena brings some food to the bald man, Elena hides her writing and drawings in the lining of her suitcase. Suddenly Lina realizes that Elena didn’t take a potato...
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Chapter 40
...boy Lina had danced with with another girl. Lina had hoped to give him a drawing she had made. Instead she is heartbroken, rips up the drawing, and concludes that boys...
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Chapter 42
...her room. Bored by their politics anyway, she goes to her room and tries to draw the faces of the men by sound alone. Back in the shack, Lina notes that...
(full context)
Chapter 43
One day while in the beet field, Kretzsky comes by looking for someone who can draw. Lina is nervous that they have found her drawings, but Kretzsky clarifies that they will...
(full context)
Chapter 44
...where her father is. Lina tries to commit the map to memory so she can draw it herself later. Though guards hover throughout her drawing, Lina manages to covertly drop a...
(full context)
Chapter 45
...and be quiet, she yells at her and leaves the shack with pen and paper. Drawing calms her down. Elena returns from meeting the grouchy woman who has posted her letters....
(full context)
Chapter 49
...for her previous accusations. Andrius does not accept her apology. In the awkward silence, Lina sketches and thinks of how she misses her books from home. In a flashback, Lina recalls...
(full context)
Back in the shack, Andrius suddenly asks Lina to look at her drawings. He flips through them and sees a picture Lina drew of him. He seems to...
(full context)
Chapter 52
...Christmas Day. Elena gives Ulyushka a packet of cigarettes for Christmas. Lina gives Andrius a drawing of him, and Jonas gives him the oval stone that sparkled like jewelry, which Lina...
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Chapter 53
...stole a pen. Elena is alarmed, but Andrius clarifies that the commander wants Lina to draw his portrait. Lina wants to refuse to do it, but Andrius and Elena point out...
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Chapter 54
...her and asks her how old she is. Lina must continually remind herself not to draw him unflatteringly. She pretends not to understand the question. Lina wants to do the drawing...
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Chapter 57
...gives her a brief nod, indicating that the file was safely returned. That night Lina draws a picture of her house at home, signs it “with love from Miss Altai,” and...
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Chapter 58
...has chipped in and gotten Lina a pad of paper and a pencil stub to draw with. On the way back to the shack, Andrius approaches Lina and gives her Dombey...
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Chapter 59
...the next. New guards come and other guards go. Meanwhile, Lina grows bolder with her drawings, and creates some that are definitely anti-Soviet. Andrius asks her if she’s learned what the...
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Chapter 61
...father. They admit they don’t want to leave each other. Lina gives Andrius her secret drawings and asks him to keep them safe. He urges her to keep drawing. They kiss,...
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Chapter 62
...he’ll see Lina again one day, and when he does, he’ll give her back her drawings. Lina cries for the first time in months. As the truck she is loaded onto...
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Chapter 64
...keeps them alive on the train, and they share it with others as well. Lina draws to pass the time. Janina asks the bald man if he is a Jew, and...
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Chapter 67
...America, because she can’t name a single accomplished American artist. Back on the barge, Lina draws the bald man despite his complaining. She asks him why he was deported, and he...
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Chapter 76
...hopes Kretszky had the wrong information, and that there is a mistake. She feels her drawings have failed. She tries to sketch, but is too upset even to do the thing...
(full context)
