Stones From the River essays

Stones From the River essays Stones From the River, a novel set in Germany from 1915 until after World War II, is about a Zwerg who discovers that being different is something all human beings share. Trudi Montag, the Zwerg, learns from several people and circumstances that even though not all differences are visual, everyone is Hegi lets the reader experience Trudi's struggle to try to fit into society by creating several circumstances in which Trudi often gets betrayed. The first act of betrayal occurrs when her friend, Eva, talks to her at the pay-library but ignores her at school. Trudi gets betrayed by another friend, Georg, when he does not stop some boys from molesting her in a barn. In her teen years, Klaus Malter kisses Trudi but then acts like it never happened. It takes Trudi awhile, but she eventually gets over her infatuation with Klaus, just as she got over her obsession with growing, and even fitting in because she realizes it will never happen. Years later, Trudi actually falls in love with a man, Max Rudnick, who falls in love with her, too. They keep their love a secret for fear of what people might think. When Max leaves for a trip to another town, and never returns, Trudi is obviously devastated. It is a very emotional part of the novel because the reader expects Max to come back, but he never does... another act of The entire novel is about Trudi trying to fit in, but the fact that everyone is different and there is really no place to "fit in." The viewpoint is original, the events tragic and familiar, the characters an interesting mixture of good and bad combined into ordinary people in an ordinary town during a not-so-ordinary time. Although there are some very tragic points in the novel, the emotional rollercoaster Hegi takes the reader on is what makes Stones From the River ...