Rosado 1

Keila V. Rosado
Professor Ditch
English 113B
2. April, 2015
She Survives Because of Them

In the novel, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, the characters portray
this image of how awful the war had gotten and how their lives stayed even after the war was
over, but throughout the novel the author provides many letters of the characters talking about
how each of them got through their hardships. Friendship in the literary society became the main
priority throughout the novel because of the way Juliet was able to open up and find hope in
people she had never met before, but through communication she was able to find friendship that
brought many together. Although, World War II has brought many tragedies and challenges they
still face after the war, the characters learn to cope with the help of others and friendship. The
literary society brings happiness and hope to the members of the Guernsey society that have lost
and had to face so much.
The literary society came together on the Island of Guernsey, where all the society
members lived such as Amelia, Elizabeth, Dawsey, and Kit. When the society first came together
the members were initially coming for the food and the shelter. After starting conversations and
starting to collect books and reading them they start to build a bond that not even the Germans
can break. Some friendships revealed early on are Amelias relationship with Elizabeth and her
daughter Kit. There are many members of the society, but the novel illustrates a few characters
lives through writing letters. Juliet is an author from London who writes articles that brings

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levity to many. She was surprised to read a letter from Dawsey Adams, a member of the Literary
Society, that had said they have received and read Juliets book and loved it so much they wanted
to contact her. Dawseys approach to Juliet was interesting because she notices something unique
in him within letters. Once Juliet went to Guernsey she became great friends with Dawsey and
realized they have things in common such as they both like Charles Lamb. Throughout the novel
as Juliet secretly falls in love with Dawsey it drives her away from Mark V. Reynolds which was
a good thing because she was going to marry a man she had nothing in common with. Before
Juliets decision to come to Guernsey, she got to know most of the members in the society. They
all wrote to her hoping to get to know her before she came into their lives. It was not a surprise
that everyone loved Juliet even before she got to the island. Before leaving Juliet has to tell her
closes friends, Sophie Strachen and Sidney Stark, her publisher, why she is leaving. Juliets
friendship with Sophie is endless and will never die even though throughout the novel Sophie
never writes back. but I believe the true reason for Juliets regained spirits was her friendship
with Sophie Stark and the Stark family. (Shaffer, Barrows 46) The relationship she shares with
Sidney keeps Juliet very confident throughout the novel because of the way Sidney motivates her
to find what she wants. Juliet believes the meaning of friendship is about not only trusting and
believing in yourself, but in others. When Juliet comes to Guernsey she already knows of Kits
situation, because of the communication she had with the members of the society, and becomes
very close with Kit. Juliet does not realize how close Kit is getting to her and how well she feels
connected in some ways. The members of the society also see the connection Kit is making with
Juliet and they thank her for being so caring and trustworthy. She makes Kit feel safe even
though there are tragedies occurring around her. Juliets friendship with Kit and Dawsey were an

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uprising to them, in which gave both Dawsey and Kit a gateway from leaving the negative in the
past and bringing out the positives.
Being in a society means to be in an organization or club formed for a particular purpose
or activity. The purpose for forming this Literary Society was to get a group of people together
and form a friendship that would make everyone forget about what is going on in their daily lives
even if it was just for an hour. The culture they brought to this literary society was incredible
because they made this book club into their own culture. Like mentioned in the article, Culture
and Communication by Anastacia Kurylo, A culture is a group of people that share a way of
life. Despite the war and killings going on everywhere, like in the camps, they find a way to
come together and find a way of being friends and overcoming these tragedies of losing family
or friends. This quote is very relatable to friendship because of the way the literary society takes
over their lives and makes the club their way of life. Another idea Kurylo suggest is, A cultural
representation involves the use of symbols to reflect various aspects of a shared group identity
culture can be expressed through symbols. In The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie
Society their books are the symbol in which represents unity and that bring the society members
together to read and form connections. These connections relate so much to friendship and the
pathway in getting to them becoming a family and overcoming those hardships they have been
facing.
Living through a traumatic experience can be very difficult for many people. When doing
specific studies on people who have had or was a victim of traumatic events they said having a
social support resource, meaning people, benefit the relationship with others. In this article the
traumatic event are motor vehicle accidents, but in the book they are losing a loved one. Now we

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know those are not the same things, but this article shows how University specialist Crystal A.
Gabert-Qullen, Leah A. Irish, Eve Sledjeski, William Fallon, and Eileen Spoonster, and Douglas
I. Delahanty, came up with a study to show that with social support resources it prevents
posttraumatic stress disorder. So to conclude friendship gives strength to others in time in need
because without the social support people would just go depressed.
Even though they had each other there were still many tragedies going on within the
group. One of the main battles that the whole literary society had to go through was when Kits
mother, Elizabeth McKenna, got taken away and sent to a camp not knowing if she would return.
Elizabeth was taken for trying to help a little boy recover from starvation and being filthy
unfortunately Elizabeths kindness got her taken and at that moment her daughter was with
Amelia. Amelia is a member from the Society and once they found out Elizabeth was taken they
knew there number one priority was Kit. Each member of the group took turns taking care of Kit
hoping one day Elizabeth would come home. If it was not for the friendship of everyone in the
society there would not be a home for Kit to live in when Elizabeth was taken. When Juliet came
to Guernsey she and Kit were growing very fond of each other and after everyone in the Society
realized Elizabeth was not coming back home they were pleased to see Kit was still happy
because she loved Juliet like a mother. The members of the society were very thankful for Juliets
upcoming because if it was not for Juliet Kit would struggle for the rest of her life. Juliet finally
realized by the end of the book that she wants to adopt Kit and keep her and take care of her for
the rest of her life and the members approved.
Another tragedy that helps see how friendship is so important and shows how kind Elizabeth
really is, is when Elizabeth did not leave Janes side even though there was an evacuation in the

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hospital building they were in. But, no matter, Elizabeth wouldnt go without Jane and the
baby. (Shaffer, Barrows 78) With a friendship so strong she was willing to risk her life for her
and thats why many loved Elizabeth and would do anything for her. There is a documentary
called Happy by Belic, Roko, and there is a documentary on a woman who lost her beauty and
did not think she would ever get out of her depression. The womens son stood by her through it
all and that reminds me of how Elizabeth stood by Jane and her baby. In the documentary the
women had been hit by a car she was a beautiful healthy women and then she got hit by the car
and her face was completely damaged. There was almost no one there by her side because her
husband left her and her kids were grown up except for her son who stayed with her throughout
it all. Unlike the novel the women did not pass away, but she did go through a hardship in her
life, but the friendship and bond she kept with her son is what kept her alive. This brings me back
to the book when Elizabeth met a woman in the concentration camps named Remy Giraud. They
became friends instantly and carried a great friendship unfortunately when Elizabeth died Remy
was not able to help her, but just to be strong for her and survive the camp. Remy did survive and
was able to eventually tell the story of Elizabeths days in the camp to Elizabeths loved ones.
Friendship can make a great amount of difference when going through a tragedy and Remy was
able to realize that because of Elizabeth.
Friendship does not take away all the pain within all the members lives because tragedies
still occurred even though they had their friendship. For instance, even though the gro9up had
their friendship in keeping their hope alive that Elizabeth would come back; she did not come
back, which cause the group to feel devastated. Friendship is not how many people get by with
their struggles it could be by bravery or just being mentally strong. There cannot always be a

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person to guide you through a tragedy that just occurred because some people learn to cope on
their own.
Throughout the novel there is an understanding on how and why friendship is the main
component. When Elizabeth stayed by her friends side even tough Elizabeth knew she was in
danger that was saying great things about her. When Juliet becomes great friends with Kit
McKenna and ends up knowing she wants to take care of her for the rest of her life that was very
powerful and showed the friendship Juliet had for the members of the society. Juliet also showed
friendship can help overcome traumatic events because in London where Juliet is from she faced
different challenges which made her feel not at home. With the friendship of the members of the
society she decided to stay in Guernsey and spend her life their where she feels at home.
Unfortunaly Kit will never be able to see her mother again, but that wont stop Kit from growing
up happy. Scientist research and determined in the article LOSS, TRAUMA EXPOSURE, and
ANDMENTAL HEALTH INA REPRESENTATIVESAMPLEOF12^ ^17-YEAR-OLDYOUTH:
DATA FROM THE NATIONAL SURVEYOFADOLESCENTS by ALYSSA A. RHEINGOLD,
DANIELW. SMITH, KENNETHJ. RUGGIERO, BENJAMIN E. SAUNDERS, DEANG.
KILPATRICK, and HEIDI S.RESNICK that children who lose a parent at a young age
experience different illnesses throughout their childhood. It says that children tend to do poorly
in school, or get nightmares or even suffer from depression. Kit is very lucky she was able to
find Juliet when she did because now she will not have to suffer because she found someone else
to take her mothers place. Friendship does help overcome a trauma or help you cope with the
challenges of losing someone close to your heart. The novel is based of friendship and the way to
go through situations and have each other to guide them through their struggles.

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Work Cited
Belic, Roko dir. Happy. Wadi Rum Productions, 2011. Film.

Belsher, Bradley E., et al. "Social Constraints, Posttraumatic Cognitions, and Posttraumatic
Stress Disorder In Treatment-Seeking Trauma Survivors: Evidence For A Social-Cognitive
Processing Model." Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy 4.4 (2012):
386-391. PsycINFO. Web. 24 Mar. 2015.

Kurylo. Anastacia. Culture and Communication 3-20. Print

Rheingold, Alyssa A., et al. "Loss, Trauma Exposure, And Mental Health In A Representative
Sample Of 12-17-Year-Old Youth: Data From The National Survey Of Adolescents." Journal Of
Loss And Trauma 9.1 (2004): 1-19. PsycINFO. Web. 1 Apr. 2015.

Shaffer. Mary Ann. And Annie Barrows. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
New York. NY: Dial. 2008. Print