48 pages • 1-hour read
The Island on Bird Street
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Symbols & Motifs
The Rope Ladder
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of religious discrimination and graphic violence.
Alex’s rope ladder is the strongest symbol of his Resourcefulness and Ingenuity for Survival. He studies his potential third- and fourth-floor hideout for some time, thinking through various plans. He decides on an ingenious plan that works perfectly to hoist the rope ladder to the third floor, tie it securely, and keep it hidden whether he is in the hideout or out on a looting mission. Further, his confidence soars once he successfully constructs, implements, and uses this rope ladder. He feels much better and safer by having a “back door” exit (the third-floor window); most importantly, his situation feels much more manageable after he proves to himself that he can control his fate to some extent.
While the rope ladder represents Alex’s learned skills and his mind for engineering, it also symbolizes freedom. Only by staying hidden can Alec hope to gain eventual freedom from persecution when the war is over. Thus, the ladder stands for his hopes for a free life. The ladder, especially with its clever wires for hoisting it up and down, also stands for Alex’s freedom within his current personal conflict. He disliked the bunker he and his father shared with the Gryns and the tiny space he used as a hiding place in the ceiling; these were cramped and uncomfortable. The cellar rooms in Number 78 Bird Street grew worrisome after several days because there was no second exit, and the hole to gain access could be widened for adults (German soldiers) at any point. Using the rope ladder to gain access to his third- and fourth-floor hideout alleviates those concerns for Alex; he enjoys the space he creates for himself, the safety of the larder, the capability of coming and going, and the air vent that allows him to the see the movement of the Polish people, largely unrestricted, behind his building. The rope ladder, therefore, symbolizes not only Alex’s resourcefulness but also his innate quest for freedom.
Alex’s “Morse Code”
Alex’s system for communicating with Stashya late in the narrative is based on Morse Code and symbolizes his Longing for Connection. Alex cleverly figures out a way that he and Stashya can communicate when he is in his hideout and she is in her home in the Polish quarter. He works out this system on long, lonely days in his hideout “island,” isolated, as he waits for the next chance to visit her: “A right-hand wave would be a dash and a left-hand wave would be a dot” (140). He considers using the air vent similarly with fast and slow openings, but he decides it is too risky. He plans to stick with yes, no, and I don’t know coded responses; “Meanwhile, Stashya could send me short messages. For instance, when to meet her. Or that she couldn’t keep a date. Or that she loved me” (140). These plans come out in Alex’s interior monologue, demonstrating his intense desire to connect with others. He also shares with Snow his ideas for communicating with Stashya, which further demonstrates his desire to connect and talk with someone.
In keeping with his usual luck, Alex shares his code idea with Stashya just in time; Yanek accuses him of being Jewish on that visit, and Alex knows his trips to see Stashya are over. He relies entirely on her hand-waving messages for human contact, communicating with no one else besides Snow until Bolek visits him on New Year’s Day.
Alex’s Timing
Alex’s innate good luck that his father mentions is evident in his timing with several events in the novel. This motif is evident, for example, in his return trip from the rope factory when Alex initially encounters Bolek. Alex is lucky to evade the notice of two fighting thieves, one of whom knifes the other, just before he meets Bolek. His timing in meeting Bolek is great luck; Bolek offers his home address if Alex should need it, and he does indeed find Bolek when Henryk must leave the ghetto.
In another instance of good timing, Alex is happy to get his rope ladder constructed, securely in place, and hidden from sight. He returns to the cellar to tell Snow that the next day will be moving day for them. But Alex cannot sleep thinking about his unguarded ladder. His anxiety and fear force him to get up, gather his things and Snow, and go ahead and move to the larder for the night. This head start allows him to complete the wire and pulley system the next day. His timing in the whole process of moving to the larder saves him from a terrible fate, as the next morning the German soldiers arrive early and without warning to break into the bunker. Alex would have certainly been captured if he had stayed in the cellar or had not hidden the rope ladder. His timing saves him in these suspenseful, dangerous situations; this motif, therefore, supports the theme of The Opposing Forces of Fear and Luck.
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