Do you think Eva was right to keep quiet the night her father was taken? What would you have done? What did Eva's decision reveal about her character and what she might accomplish later?

The beginning of Eva's nightmare falls on the night her father is taken away and she is forced to watch it happen in silence. Do you think she did the right thing by keeping quiet, or should she have done more to try to save him? What do you think you would have done in this situation? What did Eva's decision reveal about her character and what she might accomplish later in the novel?

Though it was certainly a very difficult thing to do, I believe staying quiet was the right thing to do. For one, speaking up would likely have resulted in all of them being taken, or worse, being killed on the spot. If I were in her father’s position I would have wanted my child and wife to do everything possible to live. I think Eva’s ability to wait instead of immediately reacting spoke strongly of her character. She had a very strong character as well as a level head, which had a lot to do with her survival.

I can't imagine making such an emotional decision like that. She had to save her life as well as her mother's to go on to greater contributions towards the war effort though she would have never known that at the time.

I can't even begin to imagine the enormity of this decision but I believe Eva's decision to stay quiet was the correct one. In doing so, Eva saved her mother and herself as well as allowing for the chance to secure her father's freedom (which didn't happen at the time but would have been impossible if they were all in captivity). This was only one of many examples where Eva's strength of character, will to survive, and a level head in tough situations were in evidence.

If Eva had tried to stop her father's arrest, she and her mother would have been arrested. She was right to keep silent. She did what her father would have wanted her to do. Eva was able to save her Mother and make a difference by saving the lives of many children.

She obviously made the right decision at the time but it's easy for us to know that 70 years later. At the time her father was arrested she must have been in agony not knowing what to do. I think her guilt about her inaction at the time, and her mother's blame, were the catalysts for Eva's becoming a forger. She couldn't save her father, but she could help try to save the children and resistance fighters. Right up until the end, I don't think Eva saw herself as a permanent member of her resistance cell. I think she was always planning to leave for Switzerland "soon."

Eva did the right thing by staying silent. It was a difficult decision but the only one that would save her and her mother. Eva's ability to stay alive helped many others stay alive. She had the strength of character to not allow her emotions cripple her better judgement.

I agree that it was the right decision at the time and it lead to her helping in the war.

Oh, most definitely. I agree that the father would have wanted her to save herself and her mother and by staying quiet she did just that. I think all of us have an innate sense to save ourselves and she did that. I think mothers would save their children first but since she didn't have any children, she saved herself and her mother.