1)What is the connection between the title and the book?
The Dutch title of the roman is ‘’Haar naam was Sarah’’’. This almost literally refers to the
announcement of the name of Julia’s second daughter, when she was in a conversation in New York
with William Rainsferd, he is the son of Sarah.
The English title of the book is Sarah’s Key, which is a much better title in my opinion, this title is way
more logical, because Sarah carriers key to free her brother the hole time. She ventures her own life
by returning to Paris during the war to free her brother, the key is a very important object in the
book.
2)Characterization
Julia Jarmond
Julia Jarmon is an entrepreneurial journalist. In her work she is very appreciated for her qualities. She
firmly committed to search for what happened in 1942. She has to make an article for the
commemoration in France, it’s about the black page in the history of France about Vel d’Hiv. In her
marriage it actually happened: she knows about the relationship with Amélie, but actually doesn’t do
anything about it. She will undergo abortion, but abortion does not fit in a family secret. She lets her
child be born and give the girl the name Sarah. With that she conquered the past. Bertrand her
husband doesn’t want a child, he thinks they don’t have time for a baby. So suggests abortion, Julia
Jarmond can’t do it so Bertrand leaves and finds a new wife; Amélie.
Sarah
Sarah is a sweet girl, but also a very smart girl. She hopes by locking up her brother that he will
continue to live, with the idea that she could free the boy after they were let free by the France
police, but that’s not happening they go to a transit camp named: Beaune-la-Rolande. She is bold
because she wants to escape from the camp and return to the apartment. She manages what she
wants. In a night Rachel and Sarah try to escape, but a France policeman does see the two girls, but
he knows Sarah and let the two girls escape out of the camp.
3)Favourite Character
I think my favourite character is Sarah she is so young, she experiences a lot of terrible things. I don’t
know if you can talk about a favourite character in this book, since the people in this book experience
a lot of horrible things. Sarah is a very strong young girl, imagine when you are ten years old and that
you have to live in a camp, no food, no parents, awful.
4)Development main character develops or change?
Well, Sarah is very young, she grew up in the Second World War, she is a young girl and she doesn’t
understand much about the world yet, after Vel d’Hiv she hardly trusts anyone anymore and despite
being not so old, she is already a real woman on the inside. She experience a lot during her life and
doesn’t want to bother others unnecessarily. She try to start a new life in America, she gets a son his
name is William, but she doesn’t tell William what happened to her in the WW2. Julia Jarmond visits
William to tell him the horrible story.
5) Conflict/emotional moment?
Maybe it’s a quite emotional moment that Julia isn’t happy, with her situation, a daughter no
husband anymore. She wants to meet William again, after a while they met each other and they
discuss about Sarah Starzynski and then Julia revealed that she has named her new daughter Sarah.
