Point of View

Letters from Rifka is written from the point of view of Rifka, a bright twelve-year-old girl, writing letters to her cousin Tovah back in Russia. Rifka is intelligent and self-reflective, providing Tovah and the reader with much information about her trip and her family's hopes and expectations. Overall, Rifka is hopeful about the future and writes positively about America (for example, when she finds out that her parents have indoor plumbing). Still, she is blunt and quick to speak the truth. Her mother has to quiet her when they are being examined by the disgusting doctor at the Polish border, for example, and later Rifka is very outspoken in front of the US officials who are deciding whether or not she can be allowed access into the country. At the same time that she is wise and thoughtful, however, Rifka is also still very much a...