Davita--possessed exceptional sensitivity and intelligence even as a small child--perceives discord and disunity everywhere around her, and cannot be kept from seeing how her parents' ideals buckle under the hard realities of the world she's growing into. She sees people scorned and discriminated against because of their political alignments. She grows aware of the terrible disintegration of normal life in Europe under the influence of a few power-mad men. She understands from the stories she hears, first about the Spanish Civil War, then about World War II, that man is capable of unfathomable atrocities. And then the effects of war sweep down on Davita herself, shattering the structure and strength of her family, undermining the last vestiges of her parents' fervent idealism, stealing from her the warmth and security her family has always given her.

Much of the novel's action centers around the Spanish civil War. Michael Chandal, Davita's father is a journalist for a newspaper company. He is often sent there to cover the new

Later in the novel, when Jakob Daw claimed to be dead, Annie became more religious and began going to the synagogue every morning because of him. pg 380 "Still my mother continiued to leave the apartment every weekday early in the morning for the morning service and before sunset for the afternoon and evening service." This shows how important Jakob Daw's role in the book and how he effects the other characters.

Jakob Daw, Annie's long time friend also plays a significant role in the novel. Jakob daw, often called uncle Jakob, is a writter and often tells Ilana a story which she does not really understand. He uses symbolisms in his stories, and few people understand. pg 93-94 "One day a small bird flew over the village. He circled the village twice... The little bird understood that this lovely girl was not the source of the world's eternal music and flew off to continue his search."

There is a religious aspect in the book that is portrayed by Potok in the character of Aunt Sarah. Aunt Sarah plays a role as a christian missionary that always help people that are in need. She is also a nurse. She has a strong character and she believes in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. pg 153 "We must pray to Jesus christ for peace, Ilana. He is our Lord."

Ezra Dinn became Ilana's new father, he is a different man than Michael. He is more religious and he works as a lawyer. He encourages his family to go to the synagogue and he teaches Ilana about God. He has a positive affect to the other characters in the novel.

Aunt Sarah is a big help to Ilana's spiritual growth. She encourages Ilana to read Christian books and the Bible to make Ilana understand about God. pg 159 "Is this the first book Aunt Sarah has given you? No. There were two others. One was about Christmas in Maine. I liked that one. The other was abo

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Approximate Word count = 1275
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)