By Alyssa B.
Sometimes even unkind children can be taught kindness by the following other children. Kindness isn’t innate, it is learned. In the graphic novel,” White Bird.” It begins as a grandson is interviewing his Grandmere for his humanities class. She tells a story when she was a little girl in France in 1930 during the wartime. The story is truly about Julian teaching Sara kindness. In addition, there are also themes of love, hope, friendship and freedom in the face of hate.
When France surrendered to Germany in June 1940 the country split into a free zone and occupied zone. Even though Sara lived in the Free Zone her life was never going to be the same. Sara is showered with love by her two very successful parents and she felt as free as a bird. She loved to draw, especially birds. She had everything money could buy and she was spoiled. Sara was snobby and did not stand up for a boy on crutches, Julian, who contracted polio when he was younger only called him “Tourteau” (meaning crab) by her friends and other classmates. His main bully, Vincent with his henchmen Jerome and Paul, were mean to him for 3 years. However, being spoiled is what saved Sara’s life.
When the Nazi came to her school to round up the 15 Jewish children ages 6-15, she did not listen to her loving teachers who tried to save all the children by creating a distraction allowing the kids to run and hide. Sara did not listen because she did not ruin her pretty red shoes. They were found by the Nazi. Another teacher, Mademoiselle Petitjean showed the children love by getting on the truck that was taken away to calm the children down so they would not be alone. Sadly, only one jewish child, Ruth, and no teacher survived from the group that was taken away to a camp at Beaune-La-Rolande.
Julian the bullied boy on crutches found Sara hiding in the clocktower and led her through the sewers to a poor village, Dannevilliers, and hid her in a nearby barn to save her life. With the help of his parents, they showed her love and kindness as they hid her in a barn. The punishment for helping a Jew was execution. But Julien’s parents helped because of the love they had for their son. Sara continued to dream of being a bird and having the freedom to fly away from her prison of hay and to say goodbye to her mother who was put on a train to Auschwitz where she died.
She was alone in the barn, in a prison of hay except for the visits from Julian and his parents. Her favorite part of the day was nightfall, when Julien would visit. In the next three years, they became friends and Julian the center of her world. “In these dark times, it’s those small acts of kindness that keep us alive, after all. They remind us of our humanity.” Out of love, Julian found Sara’s notebook of drawings and brought it to her, causing his bullies to follow him to the barn. Vincent started beating up Julian, Sara caused the bats to swarm from the rafters to scare Vincent and his henchmen away. But coming out of hiding to help Julian she didn’t care if she was noticed. He loved his parents and knew they all three could be executed for helping a Jew. But Julian was upset and crying, calling her the same self absorbed, childish girl that sat next to him for three years and never talked to him. Julian forgave her, and their friendship became stronger.
To pass the time they played card games, talked and they used their imagination and they pretended they were on safaris and were just together without saying a word. Julian whittled her a little bird, like the ones she always drew, and his mother saved ration cards for months to celebrate her birthday. She had hoped the war would end, she would unite with her dad, go to the university, study art and start a life with Julian. He took her out at night to the bluebells blooming at midnight and they kissed. Sara was so in love that she gave him her sketchbook to show him how she felt and how much she loved him. She didn’t know that was the last time she would ever see Julian again.
The next morning a group of Nazi or gendarmes arrested Julian but Sara felt his bully, Vincent was behind the arrest because he found her sketchbook in with Julien’s stuff. Vincent went into the barn to find Sara, she escaped into the forest shooting at her. A wolf from her dreams attacked Vincent and he was dead but had in his possession her sketchbook that she had given to Julien.
Sara ran into the house and discovered an old couple in the attic, The Bernsteins, that Julian’s family had also been hiding in the house helped them escape to Palestine. His parents tried to pay for their son’s release but it wasn’t in time. The soldiers lead a group of men mostly with mental illness and Julian in it into the thicket and open fire killing them all and they never found his body and denied the shooting took place. She was again a bird flying with Julian as he ran without crutches and his soul was free.
During the war the maquisards were outnumbered 10 to 1 and fought bravely but 200 hundred of them died. After the war ended a plaque was made for the massacre de mernuit in may 1944 but Julien’s name was not on it. Sara believed his soul was free. She stayed with Julien’s parents until August of 1944 when the war ended and she finally came out of hiding. She found her Dad, and moved away from Julian’s parents. Her mother gave her a yellow scarf and Sara visited them every summer, they even walked her down the aisle as they loved her like their own daughter. She never forgot all the kindness. She named her son and then he named his grandson after Julian, the boy who showed her how to be kind. “You might forget many things in your life but you never forget kindness. Like love, it stays with you forever.”
