I Survived the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906

Like other books in the I Survived series, I Survived the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906 contains the important idea that survivors of traumatic events can emerge stronger as a result of their experiences, having learned resilience—but also other, related qualities such as empathy and self-awareness. This emerges in the book as a more important lesson than survival itself. In the book, several characters live through terrible events, and each of them responds differently. Their responses ultimately affect how the characters understand the world and see their lives, deciding who will experience happiness and success and who misery.

Fletch is a character who allowed what happened to him as a child determine the person he becomes as a preteen. When he was five years old, a group of stray dogs attacked him. “He’d survived, but one of the dogs had bitten his throat. The bite ruined his voice. And turned Fletch vicious” (10-11). Fletch was attacked, and instead of using the experience to gain empathy toward those who are also under attack, he became an attacker. He becomes bitter, selfish, and mean, all of which lead to him ending up alone and friendless by the end of the book.

Other characters, such as Grandpop and Leo, also face difficult and life-threatening situations that could make them weary and angry toward the world, but their outcomes are better. Grandpop, for example, suffered greatly in his teenage years, “crossing America all alone in a creaky old wagon, almost getting eaten by a giant grizzly in the Rocky Mountains, surviving a forest fire in the Sierras” (6). Grandpop turned these stories of survival into lessons, passing them on to his son, Leo’s Papa.

At the beginning of the book, Leo is an orphaned child forced to fend for himself and anguished by the loss of his family. He has heard many stories about Grandpop from Papa, and out of love and admiration for Grandpop, Leo tries to emulate him. In the book, Leo finds courage and calmness in moments of difficulty by remembering Grandpop, and he enacts creative solutions to his problems, thus manifesting resilience. His empathy grows as his self-awareness deepens in relationships with friends. By the end of the book, Leo has found that love between friends can replace the love of family, and he is hopeful for the future.

The San Francisco refugees are all survivors of the same horrible event, even though they may be different in almost every other regard. As they look around at each other, “they all [share] the same expression, a mixture of shock and relief. […] they’d escaped. Alive” (83). They are heartbroken, of course, but they are also grateful to be alive, and the spirit of the city lives on through them as they plan to rebuild after such travesty. With each survivor, there will be a different outcome that ultimately not only impacts the individuals, but those around them.