Yellow Star

Scarcity is a recurring motif that relates to the hardships of surviving in the Lodz Ghetto. Syvia’s family struggles to survive with little fuel, money, or food. At one point, the family must even sell her ragdoll, demonstrating the family’s desperation. There are periods when the family wonders whether they will starve to death—a major cause of mortality in the ghetto. This is explored in Chapter 8, when Syvia’s family learns that 20,000 more people are to be moved into the ghetto, leading to further restrictions in rationing just as winter nears. Syvia’s fear of the scarcity of food is evident in her reflection, “How will we survive the winter?” (59). This fear is justified when Syvia later observes that, “Winter erases whole families,” and that her own family is “weak and starving” (61). The recurring motif of scarcity connects to the broader theme of Indignities and Hardships of Life in the Ghetto.

Fear is a recurring motif that connects to the theme of Antisemitic Genocide. Characters fear for their lives, as Nazi soldiers often kill Jews indiscriminately within the ghetto. A man is even shot dead in the street for no reason: “Bang! Bang! A man in the crowd did a funny jump, then fell on his back, his yellow star facing the sky” (131).