What do you think motivated Mr. Beale and Mr. Griffin to help the Austs?
I think they were both genuinely good people though Mr Griffin was much more kind-hearted. I think Mr Beale had some chauvinistic tendencies which made it harder to “like” him. On the other hand, he saw how important the Austs were to his wife which motivated him to help.
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I believe that many people are good in heart. Some “do the right thing” in general - others come through when they have personal interactions with those who need help.
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I appreciated that Jensen included these characters in the story. They had a moral thread that rose above the government and mainstream public sentiments.
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The Austs were lucky to have a few people who helped them through this ordeal. Mrs. Aust needed help and she had people to help in the hard times. The book showed that not all people abandoned the Austs. I have had people help me for no reason. It is a way that we grow when we do this as well.
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I do believe that there are good people in the world, who are willing to take a risk and help others. I was glad to see these characters, and I do hope that I would have the courage and the heart to help others in this situation. We all know it is not easy, but I would hope that by reading about others we are able to see that we need to step up and help!
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I appreciated through all the struggles the Austs went through Mr. Beale and
Mr. Griffin felt the need to help them at least emotionally. They also saw that Austs had always been there to help members of the community.
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The Aust family appears to be a wholesome family out to obtain the American dream. I feel the family would’ve done the same for them if the show was on the other foot. Loyalty.
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I think basic human decency motivated Mr. Beale and Mr. Griffin to help the Austs!
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I think both men were extremely kind and brave to help. They realized the injustice that was happening and became involved in trying to alleviate the problems. I imagine that it was difficult for Mr. Beale to ask his friend to help the Austs, since he barely new them. They were even there at the end to welcome Nina and Gerhard home.
I think both were decent men who saw beyond the Aust’s nationality and did not automatically assume that all Germans were Nazis – in particular MR. Griffin. Mr. Beale had some less forgiving attitudes on other subjects – what constituted “manliness” and what the appropriate roles for women might be, for instance – that made him a less appealing character but that demonstrated even difficult people can have a good side.
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I think they were both good people and acted when they saw injustice. It reminds me of the Edmund Burke quote “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Unfortunately, Beale and Griffin were very much in the minority.