The Cage

Beyond the book’s title, cages appear throughout The Cage. Beginning with Riva’s opening poem in the Prologue, Riva establishes the idea that she herself is in a “cage,” surrounded by “barbed wire,” from which she hopes to escape to rise “like a free bird.”

Though she writes the Prologue’s poem from Camp Mittelsteine, Riva inhabits many cages throughout the text. What are some of the various types of “cages” that surround her in the course of the book? How can they be compared?

Questions like these might be helpful in formulating a response:

• Do other characters in the book occupy cages, as Riva does? Are they the same kind of cages or are they different?
• By the end of the book, has Riva escaped any of these cages? How so?
• Why do you think Riva chose to call her memoir The Cage? Describe your answer in terms of the book’s themes. Why would she choose the motif of “cage” as the titular symbol?

Teaching Suggestion: You may wish to start by brainstorming with students the different types of cages that Riva experiences within the text. For example, there are not only literal “cages”; the wagons and cattle cars that transport her are cages, always barred with doors and covers.