Hanging onto Hope by a Thin Thread

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     Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Wartime Sarajevo is a heart-wrenching autobiography written by Zlata Filipović. Filipović's account of her wartime childhood is both educational and emotional. While reading her diary I learned more about the War in Bosnia than I did in any history class, but I was more emotional moved by her unique writing style and personal testimonies about her lifestyle during the turbulent times of the war. It is very interesting and surprising how someone at the age of ten can cope with living in wartime. Specifically, I love how she seeks and finds comfort in her diary.  At the beginning of the book, we can see that she is writing diary entries but they aren't specifically addressed or signed. Then, on page 27, Zlata mentions her connection to Anne Frank and decides to give her diary a name. From this point on, the audience witnesses the relationship between Zlata and her diary form into this coping mechanism. She directly addresses her diary entries to "Mimmy" and finds comfort in updating her of the challenges her and her family face during the bombing and shelling. I particularly love that Zlata begins to conclude her entries by saying "Love you, Mimmy" (Filipović, 34), "I love you" (Filipović, 38) or "Your Zlata" (Filipović, 47). It's clear that Zlata uses her diary to escape the reality of her childhood. 

    But although she can't actually escape her reality, she still finds a way to remain positive and hopeful. She remains optimistic about overcoming these struggles brought on by the war: "The people must be the ones to win, not the war, because war has nothing to do with humanity. War is something inhuman." (Filipović, 33) Not only is Zlata hopeful, but she is very strong. She holds the weight of the world on her eleven-year-old shoulders. I can't imagine living without food or electricity while there is a war intensifying around you. Thus, for young Zlata to stay strong for her family highlights the strength she has; the audience gets a glimpse of her strong mentality when Zlata says to Mimmy, "NEVER MIND, KEEP GOING, ZLATA, AND TRY NOT TO BE A CRYBABY!" (Filipović, 149) She refuses to reflect the sad and scary feelings she has about these turbulent times to her family. I also admire her advocating for all the other kids that are living in Sarajevo who have no voice or ability to write in diaries like she does. She admits, "us kids are not playing, we are living in fear, we are suffering, we are not enjoying the sun and flowers, we are not enjoying our childhood. WE ARE CRYING" (Filipović, 97). I love this quote because it really puts what they all went through in perspective. Although her diary wasn't published until 1994, I'm sure Zlata's diary made those children as well as adults who were struggling during the war very proud and grateful that she had the strength at a young age to advocate for all that endured wartime horrors. 

Comments

  1. Mikayla TaylorNovember 10, 2020 at 5:15 PM

    I really like how you focused on Zlata's personal strength that she exhibits throughout her diary, because I think that it is an important thing to note. Because Zlata is only ten when she first begins writing her diary, it highlights her impeccable strength even more so throughout the war in Bosnia.

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