How Does Samuels Use Symbolism in Kindertransport?

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The needle and thread represent the sewing up of Eva’s emotional wounds. As young Helga tries to force an unwanted, unnatural independence upon her to ensure that she is emotionally strong when taken to England on the Kindertransport. “You know I’m no good at sewing.” Little Eva knows that sewing up your emotions isn’t good as you can try but you can never totally escape your past and family history; it will always be there regardless of whether you desire it or not. Evelyn, however, takes this ‘sewing’ too far and this results in the sewing up of all her emotions and eventually, her Jewish-German history. Later in the play, Lil helps Eva to sew her hem. It is as though she is finishing the job that Helga forcefully started. Throughout the play, Faith is unpicking the stitches of her mother’s past and once it has begun to fray, she unravels Evelyn and also heals herself in the process as she always felt that her mum’s woe was her fault. “We all die one day, but jewels never fade or perish. Through our children we live. That’s how we cheat death.” This is a metaphor for children whom are said to be precious, valuable jewels that shine with innocence, purity and life. All children are by-products of their parents and ergo their parents shine on through them, whether it be with their religion, their race, their traditions, their morals or their whole family legacy. Hitler actually realised this and his initiative was to primarily kill the children that were of Jewish faith as this wold prevent the children from reproducing and therefore exterminate the Jewish religion once and for all. “The whitewash has been stripped away and underneath is pure filth.” Evelyn sees her underlying, forgotten identity as ‘pure filth’, just like she was generalised in the past by Hitler. It is almost as though Hitler has gotten to her with his ideals about the Jews. Evelyn has had a
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