The environment that one is in can affect how they view others in a variety of ways. Often, people turn to others for help, searching for someone they can trust during their hard time. Other times people keep to themselves, judging all around them, thinking everyone poses a threat. Both of these were depicted in Ruta Sepetys’ Between Shades of Gray, but what was shown in main character Lina most of all was the common trait of searching for someone to blame. In hard times, people often look for someone to bear the blame of their problems because if they feel like an event is the doing of someone else, and they take their anger or pain out on that person, it can make them feel better. Lina often did this in the story, the first major example