No Pretty Pictures

“I was born in Krakow, Poland. In a wrong place at a wrong time. I have lived in America, in New York City, since I came here as a teenager. I was an art student then. I have been a painter, a fabric designer. I am a picture maker.”

Lobel uses repetition to reinforce her misfortune. She repeats the words “wrong” to drive home how much she suffered due to where and when she was born. She alludes to her historical context with the Eastern Europe reference and outlines several personal details. The quote previews her somewhat jumpy style—she shares a lot of information in the first paragraph. The first sentence also alludes to children’s stories; instead of “once upon a time,” it’s the “wrong time.”

“But it’s also wearisome as well as dangerous to cloak and sanctify oneself with the pride of victimhood. I have spent many, many more years living well, occupied with doing happy and interesting things, than I spent ducking the Nazis or being a refugee.”

Lobel instructs the reader on how she wants them to view her. She doesn’t want them to think of her as a victim or to forgive her faults—”sanctify” her. She’s had a good life, so she doesn’t need extra sympathy. The quote features diverse diction or word use. There’s the religious “sanctify” juxtaposed against the informal “ducking.” This casual term makes it seem like child Anita was merely avoiding the Nazis as if they were some temporary annoyance.

“Then, one morning, he was gone and did not come back. He had kissed me in the night, and I did not know it. I looked for his shoes. I could not find his smell, and I cried.”

Anita uses a direct, jarring tone to convey the suddenness of her dad’s disappearance. She also brings in the theme of