The Island on Bird Street

In his months of hiding, Alex contends with fear, hunger, loss, and danger. These forces are perilous to Alex’s physical well-being, but they also threaten his optimism and his inner strength. Another opposing force that jeopardizes Alex’s spirit and positivity is loneliness. Often trapped and isolated on his own “island,” Alex’s yearning for human contact is reminiscent of Robinson Crusoe’s solitary survival. Throughout, Alex feels a longing for connection that causes him to take risks, seek interaction, and find ways to communicate.

After days of being alone, Alex takes a great risk in delaying Martha’s return to her hiding place. He is so desperate for human connection, however, that he risks it. Martha is also fearful about making contact with someone potentially untrustworthy; her parents have warned her not to talk to anyone, and she refuses to bring Alex to their hideout: “I’m not allowed to tell where it is. My father would kill me” (62). She also refuses to find a new place to chat, lest her parents miss her when they return. Consequently, the two stay put, risking looters and hiders seeing them: “I was dying to talk to someone, even if it was only girl” (62). Their chat is not nearly long enough for Alex; he happily accepts her hairpin as a gift but regrets not sharing his name with her. Later, Alex takes an additional risk when he saves Henryk and Freddy and invites them to stay in his hideout. He is not sure he can trust them when he makes that choice, but he longs so strongly for human connection that he accepts the risk.

Another clear example of Alex’s longing for connection is his choice to visit the Polish quarter for human interaction. His empathetic decision to help Henryk motivates his first two trips there—once to get the doctor, again to fetch Bolek—but loneliness drives his subsequent trips. He meets Stashya and cannot keep from going back to spend more time with her. He enjoys simple games with the neighborhood boys. His longing for connection and desire to live and interact normally drive him to these extreme risks.

Finally, Alex concocts ways to communicate so that he does not miss out on any opportunities to connect. First, he determines safe messages to leave for his father in case his father arrives at the hideout when he must be out. These coded messages, he hopes, will let his father know he is still there without revealing to the wrong party his existence. Later, he coaches Stashya in a kind of Morse Code so that they can communicate via his sightline through the air vent. These “conversations” get him through the days after Yanek drives him back to the ghetto. Alex also relies on Bolek’s idea to use a diagonal board in the window as a sign for help and uses this coded message to contact Bolek once his father arrives. These methods for maintaining communication along with his time in the Polish quarter and his risky interactions with Martha, Henrik, and Freddy show Alex’s longing for connection.