physical description of isabel from refugee

Isabel and Ivn shared a glance. Its time you had your head shaved again, he told Josefs father. He hit the ocean with a slap and a splash, and for many seconds Josef held his breath as though he was the diver himself. Josef clenched his fists, and his ears burned hot with frustration and embarrassment at his helplessness. Mahmouds mother broke down in tears, and his father let the life jackets he carried drop to the ground. It was a hard, cold rain that plastered Mahmouds hair to his head and soaked him down to his socks. She waited for Lito to tell her different, to tell her that things would get better, but he looked out at the black water instead. But sometimes when you're in the middle of writing, it can be hard to think of physical adjectives and distinguishing features for characters. You cant take another ocean voyage, Lito argued. We hurried to get here today. The smuggler raised a hand and shook his head. Slowly. And then today the same thing had happened with the French ship SS Flandre. The captain. On the wall of the common room, Josef saw a bulletin board with Nazi slogans and headlines from the rabidly anti-Jewish newspaper Der Strmer pinned to it. He slapped his father across the face. Under the sweeping wash of rain, Mahmoud heard something like a drumbeat. Isabels heart leapedthe US was even more of a paradise than she ever imagined! Josef ran to the window. But then the swell passed, and they were pulled back in by the tankers massive draw. The drownings. Mahmoud! he heard his father cry. Children pay full price, including babies, he told Mahmouds father. Mahmoud swam to his mother. But then Ivn and Lito both looked up, like they could hear it too. Do you want them to send you back to that place? Josef hissed at Papa. Let me die! he cried out again. The entire business was a charade. Later, in the hotel lobby, Mahmoud was still thinking about how he could get his brother back when he heard the desk clerk say they had no rooms left. She grabbed Lito and held him back. She pointed to red and yellow beach umbrellas with chairs underneath them. He decides who lives and who dies. His father was gone. Tomorrow, hed told Mahmouds father. He gave a curt order to the ships doctor to assemble the passengers in the social hall and then marched away. Shes a baby. But this time, someone was waiting for them at the mall entrance. Mahmoud screamed. You are Syrian, yes? No. His parents carried Waleed and Hana, but not him. Im sorry. Im sorry too, Seor Castillo said. Still, Josef enjoyed the party. A few of the other refugees had backpacks and plastic bags full of clothes, but most of them, like Mahmouds family, carried whatever they owned in their pockets. Lito had been able to hold on to Isabel, but Lita had been swept away. Isabel: Off the Coast of Florida1994 - Mahmoud: Berlin, Germany . Were slowing so they can turn us around, take us back to Germany! Josefs father pulled his arm away and knocked over a lamp. The elevator to A-deck arrived, and Mrs. Weiler emerged first, a candle in hand. The phones and chargers were safely sealed away in plastic bags in his parents pockets, just in case they got wet. The other hed learned to fear. On whose authority? Mama asked. Every day. Real tears came into Isabels eyes now, and Lito hugged her tighter. Then were officially in Europe, and we can take a ferry from there to Athens. When the smugglers had packed the dinghy full of refugees, they pushed it out to sea. As happy as she had been to go to el norte, Isabel suddenly worried that it wouldnt be as magical a place as everyone in the boat believed. Theyll come for us again and take us away! It had taken Josef and his mother a night and a day to put their cabin back together after Otto Schiendick and his goons had torn the place up. Was it really the United States? Something to calm him. Of all the things Schiendick and his fireman had broken, the Landau family was the one thing Josef wasnt sure they could put back together. Isabel has been forced to grow up fast, the physical and mental burdens of being a slave compounded by her commitment to Ruth's welfare. What if the Cuban doctor said he was too mentally disturbed to be allowed into Havana? He rose again, pushing air out his nose, but he was tired. Theyd been making trouble ever since the Cubans had told them they couldnt leave the ship. Josef had never seen a dead body so close up before. Swallowed more water. Was he crying, or was it just sweat and seawater? Papa stacked it on the tower of furniture hed already piled up against the door. Download page 51-100 on PubHTML5. You can publish your book online for free in a few minutes. He searched the rising and falling waves until he saw itthe back side of a life jacket still strapped to a man. Land! His mothers eyelids fluttered. Be ready. Mahmouds father huffed but immediately turned to his family and put on a smile. He felt a shiver of fear. No. Summary Analysis As Isabel is playing her trumpet, she hears riots start to break out in the street, and people chanting against Castro. Josef felt a bead of sweat roll down his back underneath his shirt, and Ruthie cried softly. Then the engines roared, the sea churned, and the Coast Guard ship disappeared out to sea. The shortest of the three men in fancy uniforms strode over to the group with a big smile on his face. Mahmouds mother lifted the little ball of wet blankets up to the woman. The firemen were big, churlish brutes who were supposed to be on board to put out fires. A big bearded man wearing a plaid shirt and a bulky blue life jacket sat down right next to Mahmoud, almost squeezing Mahmoud right off the edge. Ivan Castillo. Hey, is that land? Ivn asked. Every ounce of his energy was focused on kicking, swimming. It was bad, but if they got the boat bailed out and if they got the engine running and if they got back on track with the sun tomorrow and if they didnt run into any more tankers, they could make it to the States without needing the medicine or matches. An eleven-year-old girl from Havana, Cuba, and one of the protagonists of the book. When he got to Papa, Josef held his breath. Do you understand? Josefs father nodded urgently. Other children, some who looked to be about Mahmouds age. Isabels mother fell into the pool of water on the bottom and slid into the side of the boat with a thump. He couldnt see land anymore, just stormy gray waves that were getting taller and narrower, like they were driving a boat through the spiky tent tops at the Kilis refugee camp. Character Analysis Josef Landau Josef is a 13-year-old Jewish boy living in Germany in the 1930s. Always forward. The boat isnt going to flip, he told them. Josef spun around helplessly. I will stay with my family. Relieved, Isabel threw herself into her mothers arms. Lets just see if we can find a dry spot for the night. Mahmoud spied a thin Syrian boy about his age approaching each of the families in the park, offering them something. ("Lito" is short for abuelito, meaning "grandfather.") Lito is skeptical of leaving Cuba, but Isabel convinces him to join the rest of the family on the boat to Miami in order to keep the family together and help Teresa as she prepares to give birth . One every night. He felt like he was visiting an alien world. The white people got up from their tables at the bar to help pull them to the dock, and Isabel and the others reached for their hands. Im Otto Schiendick, the Nazi Party leader on this ship, he said, and German law says that a body buried at sea must be covered with the national flag. Schiendick unfurled the red-and-white Nazi flag with the black swastika in the middle, and the passengers gasped. The tanker was still hundreds of meters away, but it was so huge it felt like it was on top of them. Mahmoud was in and out of sleep, waking every few seconds when the waves washed over him. Youve nothing to worry about. She lay on her back, eyes closed, muttering about Hana, and Mahmoud clung to her life jacket. Had the storm really taken them that far off course? He left in the airlifts in the 1970s. Josefs father stayed hidden away in their cabin the whole night, sure this was all just another Nazi trick. Waleed and his mother sat down in the bottom of the dinghy, his mother holding Hana tight in her arms. I No, his father said, still dazed. Then they would fill the barrel with water. Papi and Luis got the engine restarted, and bathed it with water to keep it cool. For three days, while port officials came and went, the Cuban police who guarded the ladder off the ship told the passengers they couldnt leave today. A song was something shorter. Every empty water bottle and gasoline can had been tucked up under a bench to help keep them afloat, but if they didnt reach Florida soon, they were all going to drown. Sand slipped from his shaking fist. The first verse had been the riot: a blast of trumpets, the rat-a-tat-tat of a snare drum. But lately theyd been walking the decks, harassing the Jewish passengers. Is it Florida? Ivn asked. All around Josef, passengers wept. I find that describing facial features can be especially tricky! Were slowing for a funeral. He was almost a man. But Josef now felt more stunned than sad. Welcome to the bridge, boys and girls, he said. After the evening roll call, they would choose someone to drown. The stewards had told them all about its theaters and casinos and restaurants, and the Miramar Hotel, where all the waiters wore tuxedos. Otto Schiendick reached down and turned the handle for him, throwing the door open. It was still sealed tight in its plastic bag, the air in the bag keeping it afloat. You wouldnt even have this metal coffin if I hadnt built it! Im not sure if built is the right word, Seora Castillo said, trying to pull two of the side pieces back together. You dont understand, Josefs father said. It ended the conversation as quickly as it had begun. Josef and his family joined the other passengers standing in rows, and the doctor walked among them. But Josefs heart lurched when he saw his father kick away the man trying to help him. RudiRudi! Seora Castillo said. Mami hugged her close and Isabel shivered. He struggled in the mans arms, beating and flailing at him. If youre lucky, he wont choose you. The big fireman still had Josefs arm, and he pulled him toward the elevator. Physical description, when done well, helps the readers see characters in their minds. The water first, Lito agreed, and together they gathered up bottles and jugs and began the tedious work of filling them and pouring the seawater back into the ocean. The next morning, breakfast in the ships dining room was interrupted by the thundering, clanking sound of the anchors being dropped. The Gulf Stream would carry them north, toward Florida, but they would need the engine to reach the shore. Amara brought them close to shore, then turned and ran south along it. by . But what was the refrain? A long, thin, dark green line along the blue horizon. Be strong, like you were before. But I wasnt, Josefs father blubbered. This man was a refugee, and he owned his own car and his own business? Mahmouds muscles began to ache from shivering and holding the same tight position for so long, and he wanted nothing more than to get off this boat. We should have waited. But they were going to arrest Papi, said Isabel. Isabel is 11 years old in 1994, growing up in Havana, Cuba, under Fidel Castro's regime. I can barely move in this heat! With them. Isabel swallowed a mouthful of salty water and tumbled across the boat. Are we going full speed because were racing two other ships to Cuba? Josef asked. All he knew was that he wanted it to end, and end now. It churned and roiled and roared with bubbles and foam. They werent going to stop! How is Cuba worse now than it ever was? Before he could think, he gasped, sucking in a mouthful of the dark Mediterranean Sea. She had never been able to count clave, but she had always assumed it would come to her eventually. Per night? Dad said. In Aleppo, at least, he could run. Amara stood at the back of the boat, keeping the rudder straight against the waves. And where exactly were they? And then the rain began. All his life hed practiced being hidden. Scoop water and pray they didnt drown in the mad conga solo that drummed against the side of their tiny metal boat. I just want to get out of here! Even as he said it, he heard the whine in his voice, the pathetic, toddler-like frustration. Its only until tomorrow. The big man chuckled. Rain lashed Isabel as she shoveled water out of the boat. If, if, if. He flailed in the water, half swimming, half towing his mother toward the body. Isabel searched the shore. This was the man he had seen in the balcony the morning of the Shabbos service. Another tanker? No. A black man in a white suit hurried down the beach toward them, waving his arms over his head to get their attention. All Josefs life, he had looked up to his father. We can resolve this. Shes right, Isabels father said. Mahmouds legs went numb, and he thought he might fall over. Many of them looked at their shoes, and even Josef looked away, trying not to draw the big mans attention. Josef spun in the room, trying to figure out what to do. The US has no soul. All they could do was stay on top of the next wave, the next wave, the next wave. There were sighs of relief and whispered prayers on the St. Louis. But he remembered feeling this way back home too, whenever he passed a Nazi on the street. Josefs father let them guide him to his bed, where he sat down. She paused in her scooping, thinking how different her life might be right now. Weve always been beholden to somebody else. He wasnt in the cabin at all. He tumbled backward, head down in the murky water, his arms and feet thrashing, trying to right himself. Isabel is devoted to her family and wants to keep them together. A woman in a bikini lifted her black sunglasses and pointed at them, and the man with her sat up and stared. With its huge diesel engines and generators and dials and pumps and switches, the engine room should have been fascinating, but Josef had a hard time getting excited about it. No. This journey was a song, Isabel realized, a son cubano, and each part of it was a verse. One of the parents on board the ship had arranged for a tour of the bridge and engine room for any children who wanted to attend, and eight of them had signed up. A speedboat with lights and antennas and blue and white stripes on the sidethe colors of the Greek flag. The men laid Josefs father in the bottom of the boat and helped the weary policeman aboard. I want to go back to Syria! Theres a hotel on the next block, the smuggler said. She looked back at the pier and nice caf. He cant say. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to calm down. Rudi! He wanted nothing more than to run to his mothers arms, but she felt a million miles away from him. The sea was tossing him around, but he wasnt moving on his own, wasnt fighting to get back out of the water. It wasnt Isabels fear that shook her deep down to the pit of her stomach. Do you want the Nazis to catch you? She is strong-willed, loyal and caring. Isabel began to feel the rhythm of the sea, the singsong lullaby of it, and it was easy to close her eyes, to stop kicking, to stop fighting. Like trading her trumpet, had she swapped the one thing that was really hersher music for the chance to keep her family together? His father had only survived by staying quiet. After his family is denied asylum in Cuba, Josef sacrifices himself so that his sister, Ruth, will be spared from. We dont have to get all the way to the Greek mainland, Dad said. Ahead of Isabel, her mother and Seora Castillo slept against each other on the narrow bench at the front of the boat, where the prow came to a point. Ask him why he wants to go to the States and all he can say is freedom. Thats not a plan. Where are we? Papi asked. We should turn back! someone yelled. How are you ever going to learn to count clave in Miami? The life vest was blue, and his fathers had been orange, like Mahmouds. At last, the people on board saw them, but as the dinghy came closer it didnt slow down. Theyll never hear us no matter what we do! Seor Castillo said. What you are. Isabel held her breath. He was a man. It was a mall. Mahmoud and his father sat on one of the inflated rubber edges, their backs to the sea. In the corner of her bed, Ruthie buried her face in Bitsys ears and cried. Why should he feel guilty? In Germany, just being Jewish was a crime. Mahmoud! Isabel and Ivn clutched at each other with hope. Papa spat at the feet of Schiendick. Description: Refugee. As annoying as his brother had been sometimes, Mahmoud wished he would show a little of the old crazy again. Josefs mother had sewed the stuffed bunny back together first thing, before Ruthie had seen it headless. Mahmoud couldnt believe it. Dont! Mahmoud had heard funeral prayers too many times in his short life, most recently for his cousin Sayid, who had died when a barrel bomb exploded. They were three lonely islands, separated by an ocean of misery. My name is Samih Nasseer, the man told them, and Mahmouds father introduced them all. But at least Hana was safe. When will we be allowed into Havana? Maana, the policeman said in Spanish. Does anyone have aspirin? Its maritime law! He had sprinted away as the little dog barked at him, but not before Josef heard the ships doctor say that Professor Weiler had died of cancer. Mahmoud wandered closer to have a look. You said they wouldnt send me back. No! His eyes and mouth were open, but there was no life in either one. Lito sat on the middle bench, right above Isabel and Ivn. To answer questions about Refugee , please sign up . Were all hot, and were all tired, and yes, were sinking, Amara said. Read the flipbook version of Refugee. Josef couldnt believe what hed just done. She reached out to him, tentatively, gently, and he didnt flinch under her hand. The captain apologized profusely for the disturbance, and the funeral continued. Thethe doctor from Cubahes going to make all the passengersgo through a medical examination, Josef told his mother, still panting from his run. It was strange to Isabel to hear her father talk about something so normal, so practical, when Seor Castillo had almost drowned and the boat had almost rolled over and sunk. Beside him, Mama put a hand to her mouth and wept, but she didnt say anything. He balled his fists and breathed deeply, but he didnt object. She is brave and takes the initiative in helping them leave Cuba. But the engine was dead again. Petty Officer Jockl tried to slip the children past the little common room where the crewmen were drinking and singing, but suddenly someone in the room called out, Stop! Theyll never take me! But Papa was weak and the policeman was strong. Papa was starting to attract the attention of the passengers around them. She would have crawled over and hugged him, but there was no room to do it without three people getting up and moving for her to get there. They had a tattered old couch and a hot plate, and sheets hung from ropes to quarter the space into little rooms. So very, very tired. A woman appeared at the side of the boat, her arms reaching down to Mahmouds mother. Do you remember when it used to be like this in Syria? Mahmoud asked his little brother. Far below him, already a couple hundred yards away from the ship, Josefs father thrashed crazily in the water. Yes! they cried. They were lost in the stormy Mediterranean Sea in the middle of the night. Someone finally pried Mahmouds fingers off the side, and he slipped into the water and tumbled in the dinghys wake. Captain Schroeder and his first officer put their caps back on and saluted. All of them. She has a playful nature and plays the trumpet, but her girlhood dreams are dashed by dire circumstances. View a FREE sample. Which is why, years later when he was now the refugee he remembered . Isabel is smart, determined, and inventive. It had something to do with it overheating, Seor Castillo had said. Standard procedure. Josef made sure he was on deck when the first boat from the Havana Port Authority reached the St. Louis. Breaking the Chains. The boy saw his interest and came over to him. "I didn't know you had a brother," Isabel said to her grandfather. Like everything else, it had been swamped. I think we should try it, Amara said. Or else you drown when your boat flips. Mahmouds eyes went wide, and he shivered in his soaking-wet clothes. They said if we dont make it there first, they might not let us in. The captain pursed his lips and glanced meaningfully at his first officer, who looked concerned. A few of the shops were lit up with lamps connected to extension cords, and others burned kerosene lamps and candles. Lets go! one of the smugglers said. They all move to the front of the boat, but the boat starts to sink under the weight of the water and all of them. Tomorrow. But I was told it would be today, Mahmouds father said. Aaron! Josefs mother said now. Since now, the man said. Nothing. We stayed because Cuba was our home, Lito said. But they were right at Litos feet. Right. What is it? Ivn said sleepily. No, Papa, no! Josef said. Only he wasnt a fish. Even Renata. If you set foot on Bahamian soil, you will be taken into custody and returned to your country of origin. Behind the officers, one of the tourists who knew Spanish was translating for the others. Petty Officer Jockl had to duck as they went through doorways. The phone! She glanced quickly at Ivn. Here! Josef had made his father a promise he couldnt keep. Did you know that? Mama sat in a chair nearby, reading a book. Called in favors. Youre scaring your daughter! He was scaring Josef too. She stumbled as she entered the cabin like she couldnt remember how to walk, and Josef hurried to help her to one of the beds. Aaron Landau dropped his wifes hand, dragged his oversized coat sleeve across his face, and stood rigidly at attention, eyes forward. We just need you to be strong again. Please, can you help us? Mahmoud begged. And on the front of the ship, down on his knees with hands clasped in thanks, was. Isabel: Just outside Havana, Cuba1994 - Isabel: The Straits of Florida, Somewhere North of Cuba1994. Every night they did it, and we all had to stand and watch, his father whispered. He pointed over the side of the boat. It was as suffocating and oppressive as the 100-degree heat. Schiendick addressed his captain but never took his eyes off Josefs father. But in the span of fifteen minutes his father had undone it all again, snatching up anything that wasnt nailed down and stacking it against the door. He drank almost half of one of the few gallons of water they had left in one long chug, then laid back against the side of the boat. He was a thickset man, with a bulbous nose, bulldog cheeks, and dark, heavy eyebrows. The rain fell sideways. Mama! It churned along, bouncing in the chop, and Mahmouds father and brother disappeared into the darkness. You there! Turks will take us back to Turkey, but Greeks will take us to Lesbos! Mahmoud didnt know how anybody could see anything in the dark, cloud-covered night. Some of them looked upset and started arguing with the authorities. He says. Mahmoud held it over his head and waved it in the dark, screaming and yelling for help. You have money, yes? Thats why shed insisted they all go on the boat. I dont even know who she was! Shes safe now, Mahmoud told her. Three families in each room! After a moment, there was a quiet splash, and the mourners said together, Remember, God, that we are of dust. One by one they stepped to the rail, where they released handfuls of sand the sand Josefs father had told him to take from the sandbox. What theyll do to us! Papa threw an open suitcase on the pile, spilling clothes all over the room. Here, below decks, was the real world. I wasnt strong. Josef counted the long seconds before the man broke the surface again, this time with Papa in his arms. It was all his mother could do to hang on to the dinghy and to Hana. . Josefs father, whod been so set on building the barricade just minutes before, was so lost in his own mind he didnt even notice. Her grandfather blinked and his eyes found her again. One of the regular sailors stood at a spoked steering wheel the size of a truck tire with handles sticking out all around it. Luis and Papi had laid him out on one of the benches, and Isabels grandfather was pumping his stomach like an accordion. But you do," Lito said. First Batista, then Castro. I should have stayed put. It was a different world below decks, Josef thought. They were just settling in when a Turkish police car came down the street. The front of the dinghy chopped past Mahmoud, and he lunged for one of the handholds on the side. My baby sister But the car was already shooting away. She goes into labor as the family is rowing their boat ashore to Miami. Something skittered away in the darkness when they went inside. A huge black-and-red cargo ship slid by on the horizon. No no no no no, Josef said. How was he supposed to take care of his father? Dad hugged Mahmoud, then reached down to hug Mom, Waleed, and Hana. Please! Mahmoud begged. Maybe you could help, Papi told him. The only ones not bailing were Seor Castillo, who looked like a ghost, and Amara, who clung to the rudder with white-knuckled hands and tried to keep the boat turned into the churning waves so it wouldnt capsize. Refugee by Alan Gratz is a historical fiction novel written in 2017 that weaves together three compelling stories of families seeking sanctuary in other countries.
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