Frank Frink's Arrest and Release

A Jewish craftsman fleeing his own past is caught by the machinery of the Reich, and then set free by an unexpected act of Japanese mercy.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

Fired and Fearful

Fired and Fearful Context Frank Frink wakes knowing he has lost his job at W-M Corporation. His fifteen years of skill mean nothing if he is blacklisted, and his Jewish ancestry makes the South and Europe impossible. Turning Point He consults the I Ching and gets the hexagram Modesty, which tells him to be humble. He decides to petition Wyndam-Matson, but the decision has already been made to fire him. Significance Frink's fate begins in powerlessness. The rest of his story will be an attempt to build a new identity from the wreckage.

Becoming an Artist

Becoming an Artist Context Ed McCarthy pushes Frink to stop imitating and start creating. Frink hesitates because he has absorbed the Nazi idea that Jews can only copy. Turning Point The I Ching promises Peace, though a dark line warns of the wall falling into the moat. Frink decides to take the chance and opens the basement shop. Significance The jewelry shop is Frink's bid for a different life. It is small, illegal in spirit, and beautiful in possibility.

The Trap of the Fake Admiral

The Trap of the Fake Admiral Context Frink himself arranged the fake admiral's provocation to frighten Wyndam-Matson. He did not realize that the police and the German consulate would be notified. Turning Point Arrested on the street, Frink is named Frank Fink, a European refugee Jew who is the property of the Reich. The machine of racial law is already turning. Significance His own creative rebellion becomes the cause of his arrest. The system will not allow a Jew to outwit it, not even for money.

In the Cell

In the Cell Context Frink is thrown into a cell with the knowledge that Germany wants him. He has no lawyer and no list of attorneys, only the certainty that he will be deported. Turning Point He briefly attempts to run, but is cuffed and mocked. By evening he has given up and is waiting for the very worst. Significance The cell is the darkest point of Frink's fate. It is the end of all his hopes for the jewelry shop and for Juliana.

Miraculous Release

Miraculous Release Context The police unlock Frink's cell and hand him his possessions without explanation. He walks outside into the cold evening and cannot believe he is free. Turning Point He returns to the basement workshop, where Ed McCarthy is eating dinner. Silently, Frink starts polishing silver again, giving himself to the one thing he can control. Significance Frink's fate ends not in death but in a kind of rebirth. He will remain a small, anonymous maker of delicate objects, alive and still working.

the morning after Frink spoke against Wyndam-Matson

after Ed McCarthy proposes the jewelry partnership

when the Kempeitai and police close in

at the Kearny Street Police Station

the evening the police open his cell door