Previous
108. Joana
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Salt to the Sea, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Agency, Willpower, and Fate
Storytelling and Fantasy
Memory and Survival
Family and Community vs. Selfishness
Summary
Analysis
The next checkpoint is luggage inspection. Florian is nervous. The line is efficient, and soon Florian is at the front. The Poet and Klaus make it through easily, but Florian is flagged for additional inspection. This new officer (later referred to as the blonde Nazi) is young, healthy and Aryan. He eyes Florian suspiciously.
This is the first time Florian runs into trouble with his papers. Because this soldier has benefited so heavily from his Aryan German identity, he is more invested in policing who will and who will not benefit from “approved” identities.
Themes
Florian explains one of his bags is for his nurse. The blonde Nazi asks for her name. Florian feels guilty about implicating her, but nonetheless tells the soldier her name is Joana. Having only seen his identification papers, the soldier wonders why Florian isn’t serving in the military. Florian gives him the medical testimony, and the forged document from Gauleiter Koch. The soldier is angry that Florian did not provide him with all of his papers initially, and has now embarrassed him by pulling rank, but lets him through.
Florian cares enough about Joana to feel guilty for implicating her, however he is selfish enough to implicate her anyway, knowing that it will make his life easier to name her. Florian’s regular papers were not impressive enough to ensure him passage on the ship, but his forged papers, which make him appear to be a high-ranking German spy, help ease his passage.
Themes
