1. ENEMIES, A LOVE STORY CHAPTER 2 ANALYSIS Fiona, Grace, Holly, Sarah, and Shelby

2. Important Characterization and Plot Herman  Hypocrite: “Wrote in Rashi script” a Jewish writing, though he no longer identifies with the religion. *Allusion to star of David  Preference of tiny space because of affect of living in haystack “It was a tiny room with a single window”  Sympathy and empathizing: “He would get up in the middle of the night and free them.”  Impatience and trust issues: “He had neither the patience to go to the doctors nor confidence in them.”

3. Important Characterization and Plot Herman  Paranoia (Hypochondriac)- fear and worry of medical problems: “Sometimes he thought he was walking around with a spinal tumor.”  “Just as Masha always had to hold a cigarette between her fingers, so Herman had to hold a pen or a pencil.” “He sometimes woke up with a cramp in his wrist from too much writing.” – Addiction to writing, release  “This heavenly body (if it was a body) twinkled with cosmic joy; it laughed at the physical and spiritual smallness of a being that possessed only a talent for suffering.”-Envy of the joy of the star and those who got to die and end their suffering

4. Important Characterization and Plot Masha  “Just as Masha always had to hold a cigarette between her fingers, so Herman had to hold a pen or a pencil.”- Her addiction and release  “Despite the heat, Masha would not undress as long as her mother was awake. For appearance’s sake, she had put bedding on the sofa in the living room.”- Urge to always please her mother, guilt of going against religion-hypocritical

5. Disorders  PTSD- Herman: “He drew pictures of outlandish creatures with protruding ears, long beaks, and round eyes, and surrounded them with trumpets, horns, and anders.” – creation and imagining of devilish creatures relating to war memories. “Several times Masha set a trap, but the sound of the trapped creatures in agony was too much for Herman. He would get up in the middle of the night and free them.” – bothered by the noise and agony of the mice as it reminds him of the haystack and agony of the war  Paranoia- Herman: Distrust in other people “He had neither the patience to go to doctors nor confidence in them.” Worry of medical issues “sometimes he thought he was walking around with a spinal tumor.”

6. Important quotes/lines  “Just as Masha always had to hold a cigarette between her fingers, so Herman had to hold a pen or a pencil.”  “He even wrote in his dreams…He sometimes woke up with a cramp in his wrist from too much writing.” These quotes shows that Herman has an addiction to writing, so much so that it controls him even in his sleep. It seems that writing serves as a release for Herman, allowing him to vent his feelings and memories so they do not overtake him. It is important to note how this addiction to writing seems to control Herman.

7.  “Several times Masha set a trap, but the sound of the trapped creatures in agony was too much for Herman. He would get up in the middle of the night and free them.” Herman releasing the mice is very significant in characterizing Herman. It shows that he sympathizes/empathizes with others in agony and relates to the mice, not wanting them to feel pain as he did. It is also important to note that he still frees the mice and does not hold anything against him, as he was tormented by the mice in the haystack.

8.  “The years of Hitlerism had left him with a fatigue he never quite got rid of except when he made love to Masha.” The fact that Herman could only get rid of the burden of the experience of war when making love to Masha expresses how he was so significantly hurt by the war. It gives a description allowing readers to imagine the heavy burden war left on survivors.

9.  “This heavenly body (if it was a body) twinkled with cosmic joy; it laughed at the physical and spiritual smallness of a being that possessed only a talent for suffering.” This insight to Herman’s thoughts adds to his characterization. Making an allusion to the Star of David, the author continues to develop the hypocrisy of Herman as he again makes a connection to a religion he claims to be against. There is again the idea of a God that allows the suffering of humans and the idea that death would be better then surviving with the burden of war. This is important as it again shows the tremendous suffering of the characters and other war survivors.

10.  ““Sooner or later I will burn,” she always replied.” A confident and bold statement made by Masha, showing how she is negative in thinking that she cannot do anything to make a difference so there is no point, similar to fatalistic beliefs. It gives the impression that she believes she will go to Hell. The belief in Hell adds to her hypocrite religious beliefs, in which she believes in a religion but continues to go against it. There is the possibility that she feels guilty for the things she has done against the religion. This statement from Masha is important in developing her character.

11. Author’s diction and writing style Author’s diction and writing style is very detailed and descriptive, creating vivid imagery. Allusions and comparisons are used in the text to describe and make connections. The descriptive diction creates a dark and dreary mood, almost sometimes making the reader uncomfortable as they picture the description (*motif of fire in 6 th paragraph adds to the characterization of Masha).There is a pattern of beginning the paragraph describing the scene and then transitioning to characterization, giving a full, rounded description of both the scene and the characters.