Freedom and Confinement Quotes in The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

One awoke in darkness and silence, the bedroom windows sealed with plywood and most of the animal calls either missing or muffled. (9.1)

If we lived in a zoo, we'd wake up like this every day, because we'd want our beauty sleep. But for Antonina, this is very different. The war changes every aspect of her life, making her feel like a prisoner in her own home.

Quote #2

The idea of safety had shrunk to particles—one snug moment, then the next. (11.12)

Freedom and safety, like McDonald's food and swimsuit season, are mutually exclusive during a war. If you want freedom, you have to risk your safety, and if you want safety, you must sacrifice your freedom.

Quote #3

At first, while the Ghetto remained porous, the Żabińskis' Jewish friends believed it a temporary lepers' colony, or that Hitler's regime would quickly collapse and justice prevail, or that they could weather out the maelstrom, or that the "final solution" meant ejecting Jews from Germany and Poland—anything but annihilation. (12.10)

Many terrible events occur during World War II, each one worse than the last. Many people believe that the Jews' confinement to the Ghetto is the worst of it, because what could be worse than losing your home? But few have any idea what else lies in store.