The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story Chapter 5 Quotes
How we cite the quotes:
(Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote 1
When Britain and France declared war on Germany, Poles rejoiced and radio stations played the French and British national anthems endlessly for days, but mid-September brought no relief from the relentless bombing and heavy artillery. (5.11)
After this, the Polish response was basically Dzięki za nic. Which basically translates to Thanks for nothing, France. But maybe that's not fair. One thing we can tell you: two places you definitely didn't want to be in the 1940s were Poland and France.
Quote 2
On the rare occasions she ventured out, she entered a film-like war, with yellow smoke, pyramids of rubble, jagged stone cliffs where buildings once stood, wind-chased letters and medicine vials, wounded people, and dead horses with oddly angled legs. (5.12)
It feels surreal when Antonina goes outside. The war changes things so much that she feels like she's living in a war movie and not in the real world. And it's not even a fun war movie like Hot Shots! Part Deux.
Quote 3
First routine comforts like water and gas disappeared, then radio and newspapers. Whoever dared the streets only did so at a run, and people risked their lives to stand in line for a little horsemeat or bread. (5.11)
It takes a lot of bravery to leave a safe house in the middle of a war, but being hungry can cause people to find courage they never knew they had. Don't come between us and the breadstick basket at Olive Garden, for example.
Quote 4
Like other animal mothers, she grew desperate to find a safe hiding place for her young, "but unlike them," she wrote in her diary, "I can't carry Ryś in my jaws to a safe nest." (5.2)
Here we have a mother fearing that she can't help her family. It's kind of a tragic situation, but the image of her carrying her own son in her mouth is kind of too funny not to laugh at.
Quote 5
Antonina marveled as their wrinkled hands passed out food (mainly oatmeal), sweets, a postcard album, and little games. (5.10)
The war makes people forge unlikely friendships, like this one between Antonina and her elderly landlords. It's a friendship borne out of a need to survive, and everyone provides companionship and whatever resources they can spare for one another. These old ladies feed Antonina. Hey, a fistful of oatmeal always hits the spot.