Their son had been sent to Poland (as Ruth observed) to kill Polish people, but this was not what was really in his heart. The Wolffs are a German couple who help the children because they are in need, regardless of their nationality. It all seems so stupid and senseless." Ruth, 127-28 If he were here now, he would treat us as friends, as you do, Frau Wolff. "He was sent to Warsaw to kill us," said Ruth. Despite his respect for her, however, it is almost impossible to reverse the effects of Jan's terrible experiences. Ruth does still have a very strong sense of right and wrong, and tries to instill this discipline on Jan as well. He also only steals from Germans, which, in his mind, is not wrong at all because it was the Germans who stole everything from him and left him living alone on the streets of Warsaw. Jan is not a bad boy, but his living circumstances mean that he has to steal to survive, and this has been the case for so long that it is hard to see how he can ever untangle right and wrong in his mind again. Narrator/Captain Greenwood, 119Īfter Jan is caught stealing, he is given a custodial sentence however, as Captain Greenwood reflects on this, he is not sure the punishment will help Jan at all. But after five years of war and twisted living, such cases were too often beyond remedy. Could Ruth prevent him? She was a remarkable girl and, if anybody could help him, it was she. A week's detention would not prevent Jan from stealing again. It is also an indication that Edek was so driven to get back to his sisters that he appeared to be wild, when in fact he was a well-mannered boy driven by desperation.Īs he reflected on the punishment he had given the boy, he realized that for all his noble intentions he had only been scratching on the surface of a problem he could not begin to solve. From a spunky boy who escaped the camp he was stricken by tuberculosis and barely able to walk as their journey continued. This quote bears witness to the terrible physical toll the war took on Edek. He was a wild boy and would not stay with us.
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