Linked

“I’ve heard us called egglets—children of the eggheads. It’s not an insult—or at least I don’t think the locals mean it to be. It’s just the way things are around here. It’s a reminder that race and religion aren’t the only things that can make you an outsider.”

Dana discusses her feelings of being an outsider in Chokecherry. These feelings arise first from being new to town and a temporary resident, as the child of paleontologists working on the dinosaur dig. When the swastikas begin appearing, she also feels targeted and isolated as the only Jewish student, until Link discovers his Jewish roots. Gradually, she comes to understand that people can be made to feel isolated for any number of reasons and that the role of community is to bring people together. As Link and the other students learn, everyone is connected and responsible for each other.

“The swastika is gone, but it isn’t.”

Dana reflects on how the effects of the swastika linger long after it is no longer visible. A symbol of hate and division cannot simply be erased and forgotten because it reflects a deeper problem that must be addressed. Near the end of the novel, Link will echo Dana’s sentiment here, noting, “A swastika may be just a symbol, but it’s amazing how much trouble it can cause once it gets inside people’s heads” (179).

“It’s crazy what a few lines of paint can do: I knew it would threaten the future for Dad, but I had no idea it would dredge up a long-forgotten past for the town.”

Link utters these words long before the reveal that he was the one who painted the first swastika. After the truth comes out, these words gain additional layers: Link painted the swastika in part as a rebellion against his father, but he did not realize that the consequences of his thoughtless act would affect everyone in town.

“It’s never who painted it or who drew it; it’s always who did it.”

In this passage, Michael notices how people talk about the creation of the swastika. It was an action that then provoked further responses, some productive, like the paper chain, and some destructive, like Pamela’s. Michael realizes the seriousness of it partly because he is under suspicion as the culprit but also because of the particular word choice. This is one of the first signs that the students are beginning to understand the gravity of the situation.

“It used to seem like ancient history … but this happened to my family.”

When Link’s mother reveals their Jewish roots, Link is extremely upset, a response that gains more meaning after it is revealed that he was responsible for the first swastika. He painted it thoughtlessly and is gradually coming to terms with what it means, both to his family and to his community. A central concern of the novel is the interconnection of past, present, and future, as seen in the theme The Importance of Collective Memory. Link and his grandmother were both denied the opportunity to know and remember their histories; this sparks Link’s desire to get in touch with his Jewish heritage.

“Do I suddenly feel the need to have another religion? No. Is my life now going to be all about Judaism? No. But my life should be about something, even if I haven’t figured out what it is yet.”

The consequences of learning he is Jewish after he painted the first swastika provokes Link to think about his life and future in ways that his father’s lectures intended but never achieved. Link is finally understanding the consequences of his actions, and once he does, he immediately strives to make amends and do good. Korman emphasizes the various types of learning in the book; here, he suggests that it is through actions and consequences that true learning and growth happen.

“I’m surprised to see Pouncey and Jordie among the crew, and I question whether I was wrong to put them on my suspect list. On the other hand, those two are tight with Link; where he goes, they usually follow. Besides, there’s no law that says you can’t paint a swastika and still be part of the group making the paper chain to fight against them. Actually, it could be the perfect plan to keep suspicion from falling on you.”

As the police continue to question him about the swastikas, Michael forms his own list of suspects, and he observes his peers over time. His thoughts here foreshadow the revelations of Pamela and Link’s guilt. Michael’s observation also reflects The Complexity of Motives. In terms of the swastikas, Link’s motivation was anger and impulsiveness while Pamela’s was racism; similarly, Link participated in the paper chain project to atone for what he did, while Pamela was simply trying to avoid suspicion.

“The swastika in the science room hasn’t stopped us; it’s given us rocket fuel. The worst part of what’s happening to us has always been that we have no way to fight back. Until now. This is how we fight back.”

Several times across the novel, characters reflect on how the swastikas have mobilized people to take positive action. Here, it is Michael, noting that rather than be demoralized by another swastika appearing, participants in the paper chain project feel inspired to work harder toward creating something positive and meaningful. It is when people are passive and accepting of hate and division, believing there is nothing they can do, that bigotry takes root.

“But even in the middle of all this business with the swastikas, Chokecherry doesn’t feel like a racist place. True, somebody must be racist—because the swastikas are obviously coming from somewhere. But most of the kids at school hate what’s been happening. Every day, a larger number of volunteers show up to work on the paper chain. There are so many of us now that Caroline and Michael had to move production from the art room into the gym, and parts of the chain are draped over everything.”

In this excerpt, Dana notices that the one racist person is being drowned out by the positive collective action of her classmates. This speaks to The Power of Individual and Community Action. As with Michael’s reflection, Dana is noticing that a community does not have to be defined by one bad person. A racist person in Chokecherry does not necessarily mean that the entire community is racist, but the whole community must act together to make a statement against hate, as they do through the paper chain.

“I guess it’s a shame that it took swastikas to inspire the kids of Chokecherry to get up off their butts. But the end result is more than worth it. For the first time in my life, I’m proud of my school. A bad thing happened to us—is still happening to us. And we turned it into the ultimate good thing, times a million.”

Caroline has been trying to inspire students to participate in student government and has been disappointed by their lack of engagement, until the swastikas mobilize them. Her sentiments here are echoed by Rabbi Gold in Chapter 29 and Michael in Chapter 32. Good results can stem from bad beginnings, and while the negatives should not be ignored, the positives should be acknowledged too.

“You came here all the way from New York. Do you even like our town?”

In an interview with Caroline, Adam urges her to say negative, inflammatory things and denounce the adults in the town. Rather than engage with the community from a place of concern and a desire to help, he chooses to exploit the town’s tragedy for his own ends. Outrage and drama fuel engagement, which is Adam’s primary motivation. Caroline picks up on this and calls him out on it; the students will do so again later on in the book, signaling that they do not stand for promoting hate.

“It’s hard to imagine that this landscape of loops was made one link at a time, starting that afternoon in the art room.”

In the above passage, Link brings a news crew to the warehouse where the links are being stored. He marvels at how the project has grown, literally in terms of the volume of links and figuratively in terms of how the project has drawn in people from everywhere. Being there at the beginning, when it was a small group of committed students, brings home The Power of Individual and Community Action.

“But I don’t own the Holocaust. Neither does Link—whose great-grandparents died in it. It’s called a crime against humanity because all humans co-own the responsibility never to forget it.”

At first, Dana is ambivalent about the paper chain project. She is not convinced that the students can or will make a difference. As the project grows, though, she becomes a believer because she realizes that it is not just about her, Link, or people who have a personal connection to the Holocaust. Eventually, the survivors will leave this world, and it will be up to the next generations to remember.

“He’s manipulating us. And we’re letting him.”

After Pamela is arrested, Dana reflects on how quickly Adam uploads videos featuring Pamela’s life story and concludes that he must have known all along. He allowed it to continue because it fueled his popularity, and he clearly feels no remorse for exploiting the community despite claiming to help them. Dana also notes that the community is partly responsible, as they have tolerated his presence and participated in his interviews instead of shutting him out. Adam is a double-edged sword for Chokecherry: Though he causes them harm, he also enables the world to connect with them and offer support.

“‘Twenty years from now, none of us will be here to speak for ourselves,’ says another member of the Florida group, an old man leaning on a walker. ‘Your paper chain and your willingness to pass our stories on will be our voice going forward. Humanity can never be allowed to forget what happened.’”

In a Zoom meeting with Holocaust survivors, the students engage with the real people affected by the Holocaust for the first time, and they are deeply moved by the experience. The figurative and literal meanings of the paper chain merge in the man’s words to the students: They are the links in the chain of humanity that will carry the survivors’ memories. For Michael, the man’s words drive home The Importance of Collective Memory.

“It’s a turning point for me, and I think for everybody else too. We’ve been working on this chain for weeks, churning out millions of links on our journey to six million. But for the very first time, we don’t see loops of construction paper.

We see faces.”

Michael reflects on the impact talking with the Holocaust survivors has had on himself and his schoolmates. Learning about the survivors’ experiences has made the project more personal and less abstract, and the students are re-energized. This supports Korman’s message that education is a combination of school-based education and real-life engagement. True learning, growth, and change must include opportunities for active, personal involvement. Ultimately, the museum planned at the end of the novel will seek to enable such experiences for ensuing generations.

“Dad was worried about my future? I was giving him something to worry about. More than one thing, in fact. I was saying: Here’s your perfect town, George Rowley!”

At the beginning of the novel, Link resents what he perceives as his father’s obsession with Chokecherry and its legacy. He commits a destructive act intended to harm the thing he thinks his father is most concerned with. Link overestimates how much his father cares about the town over him, while George underestimates how much healing can come from acknowledging the past. By the time Link is exposed as the person who painted the first swastika, he has learned about his father’s true intentions, which deepens his guilt over his own thoughtless cruelty. Both learn to channel positive intentions towards meaningful creative projects, enabling the town, and their relationship, to heal.

“What was I thinking?

I wasn’t thinking. It’s the most thoughtless, heedless, brainless thing I’ve ever done.

Which is how anger works. And also how hate works. I didn’t hate—and I don’t. But on that day, those two just crashed together in me.

No excuses.”

Here, Link is reflecting on his emotional state when he painted the swastika. His hatred was not directed at Jewish people but at his lack of direction in life and the town that he mistakenly believed his father cares about more than him. Anger and hatred are a dangerous, destructive combination. The fact that Link does not try and make excuses or shirk responsibility shows his growth. In the past, he would’ve flippantly brushed the whole thing off; now, he understands the severity of his actions, and he is committed to atoning for them.

“And while all this began with a horrible error in judgment, it gave rise to something remarkable—a paper chain of six million links, representing six million lives tragically lost to us in the Holocaust.”

After Link confesses what he did to Rabbi Gold, the rabbi points out that something powerful and positive has come out of Link’s “horrible error in judgment” (179). His point is that people are not powerless in the face of their mistakes but can seek forgiveness and reconciliation through positive action. More broadly, positive action is the most effective response to others’ bad acts; likewise, it is one of the most meaningful ways to move past one’s own mistakes.

“Instead of an accomplishment, it’s turned into an embarrassment. And when the subject does come up, you hear a lot of grumbling about what a waste of time and energy and paper, and before you know it, a couple of kids are arguing over whether or not the Night of a Thousand Flames really happened.”

Here, Dana notes how the revelation of Link’s culpability impacts the mood at school, quickly erasing all the good feeling and sense of empowerment the students had felt. Old arguments and complaints quickly resume. Without ongoing commitment and action, momentum can quickly be lost.

“My grandma, now an old woman but once a helpless baby, handed over into safety by her doomed parents.”

Link’s relationship to his grandmother exemplifies how memory cannot be preserved only by those directly affected. His grandmother was not in a position to know her own history until it was revealed to her as an adult. Link’s desire to claim his Jewish heritage enabled her to do so as well, and it mobilized the community to create a memorial that would preserve a larger history. As with the paper chain that began with one link, memory can begin with the personal and grow into a collective.

“‘We all do jerky things,’ she assures me. ‘It’s what you do next that matters. What you did next inspired a lot of people.’”

Dana here echoes what Rabbi Gold told Link when he confessed what he did. His mistake was the beginning of his story, not the end, because he chose to confront what he did, see forgiveness, and make amends. In the process, he brought his entire community together. Dana’s forgiveness is particularly meaningful, as she, the only other Jewish person in town, was personally impacted by Link’s actions.

“When ReelTok interviews Mr. Friedrich, he plays town hero, like none of this could possibly have happened without his glorious TokNation. I guess he’s partly right. He stirred up a lot of trouble, but it created a ton of publicity for our paper chain. As much as I hate to admit it, he deserves some of the credit for our tolerance museum.”

Michael here reflects on the interconnection of good and bad. Adam exploited the town for his own agenda and goals, but in the process, he brought attention to the paper chain that would otherwise not have happened. The underlying point in this is that bad does not have to outweigh or diminish good. It is a choice that depends on how people respond to bad acts.