Rescue

“I hadn’t seen my father for 657 days. From this exact moment, that is one year, nine months, two weeks, four days, and one hour. That’s how long it had been since I had not waved goodbye. In 657 days, we had not heard anything about him…or from him.”

Throughout the novel, Meg keeps count of the number of days since she last saw her father. This countdown adds tension and conveys her emotional distress and worry about his situation. Narratively speaking, it also provides a clear timeline for the story since the countdown is used as a recurring chapter epigraph.

“From the reports we heard on the radio, we were better off here in the forests of the Perche than in the cities, where they faced a stronger Nazi presence, sharp questions of loyalties, and where hunger, even starvation, was a constant threat.”

This passage introduces some context about Meg’s situation at the beginning of the story. Throughout the novel, the author uses the narrator’s voice to provide information about real historical events and French geography during WWII. These details add credibility to Meg’s story while emphasizing the reality of the time.

“Maman often talked that way lately, in bundles of words that said nothing whatsoever, giving long explanations without a hint of information.”

In this quote, Meg uses a metaphor to convey her mother’s elusiveness, which parallels the young girl’s and thus highlights their similarities. This also foreshadows the revelation that Sylvie Kenyon works as a secret radio operator for the resistance.

“Rule: Trust is earned, not given.”

At the beginning of almost every chapter, the narrative uses epigraphs in the form of “rules” of espionage. Each rule serves to emphasize the chapter’s main problem and thus sometimes foreshadows key plot points. This plays into the theme of The Intersection of Historical Events and Individual Lives, as it creates a connection between wartime espionage and Meg’s personal challenges.

“She truly was a kind woman, so if she had become angry with me so easily, things must have become very difficult at home.”

This quote contributes to the characterization of Meg as kind, generous, and smart. When a lady gets angry at her because she cannot afford her produce anymore, the young girl shows compassion and understanding, which ties into the theme of Appearance Versus Reality.

“But spring was my favorite season, when the first green buds peeked out, ready to unfold new leaves and blossoms, when the world around me began to awaken once again. I hoped spring would come soon.”

Meg’s comment about her favorite season being spring because it announces rebirth can be interpreted both literally and symbolically. In an allegorical way, this passage reveals Meg’s hope for the end of the war and her desire to see the world “awaken once again” from its darkest hour.

“For most of my life, Papa and I had shared a love of codes. Our game was to create something the other could not decipher. Neither of us yet had lost the game.

The day he left for the war, Papa had given me a tall jar of folded papers, each one with a different code. He believed he’d made enough papers for me to solve one code each week until he came home.”

This passage introduces one of the key plot points in Rescue. Not only is Meg’s relationship with her father characterized as very close and loving, but the narrative also highlights their shared passion for Codes. While decrypting each other’s messages has only been a game so far, it has also become a way for them to remain close despite Harper’s absence. Additionally, this foreshadows the role of codes in the story, leading up to their reunion at the end.

“It’s more accurate to say that we are professional troublemakers. The more trouble, the better. Some call us the League of Ungentlemanly Behavior, but in the end, we’re a group of misfits who lack the good sense to conduct this war in a proper way. Our task is to do everything the regular military cannot do.”

Captain Stewart’s description of the SOE, or Special Operations Executive, adds humor and intrigue to the narrative while also foreshadowing Meg’s role as an honorary spy. In fact, the SOE was a real-life British organization whose main purpose was espionage and sabotage during WWII.

“Jakob stopped to stare at me. ‘The Nazis are evil, not the Germans.’

I shrugged. ‘Is there a difference?’

‘Yes, Meg. There is.’”

This conversation between Jakob and Meg contributes to the themes of Appearance Versus Reality and The Moral Challenges of Resistance Efforts. At the beginning, Meg sees the world in a black-and-white way, but throughout the story, she learns that there is more nuance to people’s behaviors. In fact, she comes to view Albert and Jakob as family despite their nationality, and she does not hold a grudge toward Liesel, who, although she betrayed them, only did so to save her daughter.

“I wanted to say something brave, something that showed my confidence, but since I had absolutely no confidence at the moment, I merely held my tongue and nodded.”

Although Meg is smart and self-aware, several passages in the story highlight her youth and inexperience as well. This is particularly evident when she is scared and only pretends to be brave to be taken seriously. This quote, for instance, illustrates that there is a distinction between Meg’s behavior and her emotions, which ties into the theme of Appearance Versus Reality.

“Maman once told me that surviving in an occupied country meant we had to learn how to live in the middle—somewhere between accepting our fate and outright resistance. With my next step, I left the middle.”

This passage introduces the symbolism of Middle Places. Although Meg describes her family’s situation at the beginning as “devastating” (11), she realizes that she has been sheltered from the worst effects of the war, including the need to actively resist Nazi invasion. This quote depicts her first open act of defiance and the beginning of her dangerous journey, which creates suspense and tension.

“The day will come when the world will know everything that has happened, or that may yet happen. It will change us as a people, all of us, forever.”

Albert’s words reveal that, during the events of WWII, a lot of people were unaware of the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis. This may also be viewed as an indirect address to the reader, who is able to look back at those historical events with that additional knowledge, thus creating a sense of dramatic irony.

“This was Captain Stewart’s spy training manual!

I flipped through the book, pausing every few pages to read the chapter titles with rules for the spies listed below. Everything was in here—the art of disguises, how to withstand an interrogation, what to do in an emergency…and there it was again, the chapter on codes.”

The spy training manual is one of the items Meg finds in Captain Stewart’s Backpack and likely the most useful in the narrative, as well as a significant connection to her father’s Codes. The manual’s contents, which are revealed throughout Meg’s adventures, often provide solutions to her problems and parallel her character growth. As the young girl becomes more and more confident, she becomes more capable of facing her fears and using the tools in her arsenal, both physical and metaphorical.

“When we first went to live with Grandmère, the Jewish family next door had a daughter about my age, Véra. She was friendly and loved to laugh, and we quickly became friends. Almost as quickly, Germany began placing restrictions on her family—on all Jewish families. […] Véra’s family used to come to Grandmère’s house and listen to the radio with us. Then one day they stopped coming. A month later, they disappeared entirely. But it was not Germany who had taken them. Vichy had given the orders.

Others had disappeared too. A Roma family who’d lived in the forests. Even two men in our town, because it was rumored they were romantically involved.”

This quote provides context that highlights The Intersection of Historical Events and Individual Lives. Meg describes how Nazi ideology has affected her life by tearing her community apart. This also provides factual information about some of the populations targeted by the Nazi regime during WWII, including but not limited to Jewish people, Roma people, and gay people.

“She was not a Grey Mouse at all. I had judged her unfairly. Jakob’s words from yesterday came to my mind, that all people were not the same, just because they came from the same place.”

This passage reveals Meg’s growth as she realizes that she has been deceived by Appearances Versus Reality. Although the woman who saw her and the Durands run away from the Nazis appears to be flirting with Lieutenant Becker, she only does so to distract him. This quote also links to the theme of The Moral Challenges of Resistance Efforts since the woman’s behavior may be interpreted as immoral on the surface, yet she does so to save Meg and her friends.

“‘Remember this always,’ Albert said. ‘There is nothing so dark that light cannot find its way back.’ His eyes turned to me. ‘There is nothing so lost that time cannot return it to us again.’”

This passage takes place when Meg and her companions are watching a lunar eclipse, and Albert’s words can be taken both literally and symbolically. Indeed, the metaphor of light always returning after darkness highlights the need to keep hope and faith in the future. Meg’s later comment that the eclipse “might be the most beautiful thing [she’s] ever seen” (146) suggests that she understands this symbolism.

“‘Are you all right?’ I asked him.

He nodded but said, ‘I have never felt hatred like that before, just for who I am.’ He took a slow breath to calm himself. ‘The family we hid in our home tried to describe hatred to me, but I didn’t understand it before. The worst part is that I don’t think I understand it even now, not the way they would.’”

When Jakob is attacked by a French person who identifies him as German, his response points out the distinction between Appearance Versus Reality, as he is actively resisting Nazi efforts but is still viewed as an enemy due to his nationality. Significantly, however, he emphasizes the difference between this particular incident and the systemic oppression experienced by Jewish people.

“She leaned back and smiled. ‘Now, what about your hair?’

‘Down.’ Jakob shrugged at me. ‘I think keeping it down would be pretty…I mean, it’d make you look older.’”

This passage takes place as Liesel and Meg are trying to disguise themselves with makeup and different hairstyles to the ones depicted on the poster identifying them as fugitives. Jakob’s comment that keeping her hair down would make her “pretty” suggests that he may be developing romantic feelings for the young girl. At the very least, this makes their respective character growth evident as they become close friends throughout the story.

“‘She must do what she feels is right.’ Albert leaned down and kissed the top of my head. ‘We will miss you, Meg. You’ve become like part of our family.’”

This passage reveals the evolution of Meg and the Durands’ relationship throughout the narrative. At first, the young girl only viewed them as potential enemies, and the Durands only pretended to be related. By the end of the novel, however, they have become much closer and even consider one another family.

“My home smelled as it always had, and looked nearly how I remembered it, with only a touch of dust. But even though it had appeared the same from the outside, it felt different inside. I couldn’t decide why. Maybe the difference was me. I was older and had seen more of the world, and the effects of war. Maybe I’d seen too much, and this place was now only a memory of a childhood I never had the chance to finish.”

This passage, which takes place when Meg returns to her childhood home in Auxonne, reveals her character growth. Indeed, the house is used metaphorically to symbolize the young girl’s emotions: “Even though [she] appeared the same from the outside, [she] felt different inside.” Meg states that she symbolically left her childhood behind when she left her house at the beginning of the war, suggesting that the war made her and other children grow up too fast.

“I felt I was being torn in half, having to make such a decision. I could not save everyone, and choosing one direction sacrificed the other.”

This passage takes place after Meg has just learned that her mother and grandmother may be in danger and simultaneously realizes that Liesel is a traitor. It reinforces The Moral Challenges of Resistance Efforts while creating narrative tension through Meg’s emotional dilemma.

“With my decision made, I lifted Captain Stewart’s bag onto my shoulders, realizing for the first time how much lighter it had become. No, I began to realize how much stronger I had become—that was the difference.”

Building on the previous quote, this passage conveys Meg's growth and newfound confidence as she realizes how strong she has become. Significantly, this is revealed when she easily lifts Captain Stewart’s Backpack, which at first felt like a heavy burden, both physically and emotionally. Meg is now able to carry the backpack as well as the responsibility it implies.

“‘How could you do this, Liesel? After all that you said to make us trust you?’

‘Because they have my daughter. Don’t you see, Meg, that I had no choice? I still have no choice.’”

Liesel’s final moments in the narrative conclude the themes of Appearance Versus Reality and The Moral Challenges of Resistance Efforts. Significantly, she is not framed as a villain despite betraying the protagonists, and instead her actions are justified by her intentions. In the end, Albert states that they “bear her no ill will” (297) because war pushes people to make difficult choices that cannot be summarized as purely moral or immoral.