Topic > Review of 'The Story of Daniel' by Carol Matas

Index ThemeCharactersSettingsPlotClimaxStory ConflictResolutionStyleAuthors Mood and ToneAuthors Purpose of WritingWhat I LearnedWould I recommend this book? Daniel's Story is a thrilling 1993 historical novel and children's novel written by Carol Matas, a prominent Canadian writer. It tells the tragic and inspiring story of Daniel, a courageous young Jewish boy who survives the horrors of the Holocaust for Jews in Central Europe. Daniel embodies the experience of millions of children and their families during the Holocaust. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Daniel is a photographer who tells the story through the images in his album and in his mind's eye. At the beginning of the book Daniel is 14 years old and at the end he is 18 years old. During his four years in Nazi Germany, Daniel transforms from someone who has a very stable life and is well-liked into someone who helps conspire and fight the Nazi government. While leafing through his photo album, Daniel has a series of memories that are well described and transport the reader to the harsh world in which he once lived.ThemeThe theme given by the book is the level of brutality of man towards his fellow man which results from prejudice and discrimination, from uncontrolled hatred, from racism and religious intolerance. The events described in the book are the maximum expression of man's heartlessness towards his fellow men. People were tied up and publicly humiliated, children were forced to molest and ridicule, people were crowded, pushed, starved, beaten and killed. They were thrown from windows, tortured, burned, chased, they were stripped of all dignity and life before they died, but an even more insidious horror is the fact that it was men who did this. Characters The characters in the book are: Daniel (main character, a 14-year-old Jewish boy who lives with his family in Frankfurt, Germany. At the beginning of the book, he is a comical kid who likes to make jokes), Ruth (the Daniel's mother, who dies in Auschwitz, is faithful). of her family and works hard to take care of them, and is described as calm, beautiful and sweet), Joseph (Daniel's father and constant companion, a highly respected head of the family; he is a religious man and his spirit helps others survive ), andErika (Daniel's younger sister, a passionate violinist and the youngest person in the Lodz orchestra/ She is calm and quiet and expresses herself through her music).Rosa (Daniel's girlfriend).SettingThe book is set in Poland and Germany during Hitler's reign of terror and Nazi regime. Much of what happens happens in Lodz, the ghetto in Poland. The time frame of the story goes from March 1933 until the surrender of Germany in May 1945. Daniel, the main character of the story, and his family lived in Frankfurt before being forced to move to the Lodz ghetto in Poland. Plot Daniel begins to despise the Nazis so much that, in Auschwitz, after meeting an old friend from Lodz, he eventually joins a successful conspiracy to free himself and other Jewish prisoners from Buchenwald. There are many dangers in this secret conspiracy, but Daniel never has second thoughts. ClimaxDaniel eventually returns to Lodz at the end of the book, where most of his troubles began. There he shoots a Pole, which shows that Daniel still has enemies, even though the Nazis are no longer in power. History Conflict An example of external conflict is the Jews and Hitler. The Jews are appalled by Hitler's treatment of them. An example of internal conflict is Daniel fighting with the Nazis. Also.