111 pages • 3 hours read
Zlata FilipovićZlata's Diary
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | YA | Published in 1993A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Key Figures
Themes
Index of Terms
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
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BetaSeptember 1991-January 1992Chapter Summaries & Analyses
September 1991, Entries 1-3 Summary
Zlata’s diary opens with the new school year ahead. Starting fifth grade, she looks forward to seeing schoolmates, many of whom she did not see for the entire summer. She recalls some of the fascinating places her friends went on summer vacation and describes the classes she is now taking. She enjoys piano and solfeggio, plays tennis, and looks forward to woodworking in her workshop class. Her lessons are her biggest “responsibility,” and she spends time studying as well as attending parties. At her friend Ivana’s birthday celebration, she wins a dance contest and a jewelry box.
October 1991, Entries 3-7 Summary
In mid-October, officials call Zlata’s father to serve in the reserves. The family puts their ski trip on hold to accommodate his new schedule. Though many things feel normal, such as watching American Top 20 on MTV and continuing with lessons, the rumor of war hangs over the family. Reservists from Montenegro have entered Bosnia, and Zlata worries that the type of war occurring in Slovenia and Croatia is now coming to Bosnia-Herzegovina. Family friends like Srdjan in Dubrovnik, Croatia, endure shelling and have had their water, electricity, and phone lines discontinued. News stories show horrible pictures, and her parents are more worried than usual. Besides Srdjan’s suffering, they are saddened to see the city where they got engaged in ruins.
November 1991, Entries 8-12 Summary
Many normal routines continue in the Filipovićs’ lives, such as attending choir practice and spending the weekend with friends Martina and Matea. They even visit their family’s 150-year-old country house in Crnotina, where Zlata’s grandparents live and keep an orchard.
The situation in Dubrovnik worsens. Srdjan can only contact Zlata’s family by ham radio and reports that the city is without food and water. He had to trade whiskey for 5 liters of water. Even in Sarajevo, Zlata’s father must stand in long lines to purchase gas.
The family sends a care package to Dubrovnik, and Zlata wonders about war and politics. After doing well at her music recital, she and her parents visit cousins in Jahorina, a ski town. Though the adults talk politics, the children play games, watch TV, and enjoy their time outdoors.
December 1991, Entries 12-19 Summary
Zlata’s birthday is December 3, but she gets sick and cannot attend her party or school for the first week of December. She occupies her time watching American shows, such as The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Murphy Brown; she even contemplates joining Madonna’s fan club. She also wins tickets to see Ninja Turtles by writing to a children’s program in Sarajevo. While Zlata is still sick, her friend, Bojana, celebrates her own birthday, causing Zlata to feel left out.
Zlata’s parents attempt to reach Srdjan by phone, but communication with Dubrovnik is difficult. When they do get him on the line, he lacks electricity, water, and food. Twice, Zlata asks herself if there really is a war. She says she’ll keep her fingers crossed on Srdjan’s behalf. Meanwhile, she sends another care package.
When Zlata is well enough to return to school, she must catch up. Final exams are coming, and she hopes to get straight A’s. She celebrates her 11th birthday 11 days late, but it is a success. Following her birthday, Sarajevo launches an appeal to help the children of Dubrovnik. Zlata’s family and some friends create care packages, including chocolates, vitamins, toys, books, pencils, and notebooks—all things they feel might cheer someone.
The war darkens the holiday season, and though Zlata celebrates Christmas with Martina and Matea, she feels tension in the air. Srdjan phones on Christmas, which both saddens and encourages the family. Zlata continues to wish for a swift end to the war. She knows that the atmosphere is different than usual and that her parents are not planning their typical big New Year’s Eve party. She wonders if it is because of the war. On the last day of school for the year, she writes that her class will attend the cinema to see White Fang, which excites her.
January 1992, Entries 18-23 Summary
Zlata’s family does not celebrate New Year’s Eve with others, but they throw a big party the following day. Zlata starts her winter holiday with a day trip to Jahorina, where she exchanges gifts with her cousin Jaca, sleds, plays Yahtzee, and watches the Witches of Eastwick. She recounts her school trip to the cinema, where they saw My Brother Aleksa rather than White Fang. Some misbehaving students hit her with wads of paper, and she bemoans her bad luck.
The winter holiday drags, and Zlata settles into lonely boredom. She fills her time writing in her diary, reading Captain at 15 by Jules Verne, and watching movies like Top Gun and shows like Dial MTV. She also calls her friends and even gets into trouble for staying too late with Vanja and Andrej playing Monopoly. Toward the end of the month, she and family friends return to Jahorina for a week-long ski holiday. Everyone comes home sick.
September 1991-January 1992 Analysis
This first section recounting Zlata’s life prior to the outbreak of war in Sarajevo starkly contrast with the rest of the work in tone, purpose, and detail. Early entries highlight Zlata’s indomitable enthusiasm, wry sense of humor, and pervading sense of comfort. Entries abound with exuberant proclamations in all caps, such as “LONG LIVE SATURDAYS!” and “[O]ur teacher is Jasmina Turajlić and I LIKE HER” (2); Zlata as a character emerges as positive, enthusiastic, and social.
Entries recording her daily struggles and triumphs further characterize her as an excellent student and reveal both her values and motivations as well as the extent of her fears. The latter largely consist of bad grades and being sick for her birthday, adding retroactive pathos to Zlata’s story. These typical preteen concerns may seem trivial in light of her later experiences, but (as the Preface reminds readers) these should be the height of a child’s concerns: Coming of Age During War forces children to mature too quickly.
The outbreak of war in Dubrovnik has the effect of foreshadowing, though this again is unintentional. Through the eyes of a child shielded from the news’s darker particulars, the specter of war builds slow suspense. Zlata writes of her father’s call to reserve duty, “We’ll just have to get used to it. I suppose it won’t last for long” (6), her unconcerned tone revealing that the political situation is at first simply an inconvenience to her.
Zlata’s tone shifts toward worry when she learns of the war, though it is a distant worry and abstract concern. She wonders, “How are they coping with everything that is happening over there?” (7), revealing her perception that the conflict is far away and unthreatening to her. This is part of what makes the diary effective in its antiwar message, as readers may well share Zlata’s initial perception that war is something that only happens in “other” places; ensuing events reveal how fragile peace and stability are. Her next entries follow school events and the possibility of a recital, but entries related to Dubrovnik continue, an ominous presence in an otherwise upbeat diary.
By December, Zlata’s unique sense of humor and occasional attitude of entitlement are clear. When she is sick during her birthday, she pokes fun at her own disappointment, writing “Oh, I am so unlucky! (Don’t be such a pessimist, Zlata, things aren’t so bad)” (13), a line that reveals a level of self-awareness unusual for her age. The unintended irony of the statement, made without knowledge of the upcoming war, is unsettling: Though aware that her life could be worse, Zlata gives no indication that war is anywhere on her radar.
Blissfully unaware of the severity of the political situation, she likewise complains about the lack of festivity at New Years, explaining that she “spent New Year’s Eve AT HOME WITH MY MOMMY AND DADDY” (18-19), a tone of childish entitlement that resurfaces when her mother becomes ill, delaying their ski trip to Jahorina. Though she mentions the adults around her talking politics, her tone is dismissive, revealing a character that is very comfortable and secure in her own childhood.
