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The Gift By Abigail Character Analysis

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In this novel Abigail discovers the hidden obstacles and gems of family love. In her previous experiences, family was never a big part of her daily life. Her mum was divorced because her father found another woman and she was forced to be much more independant. Abigail nearly h never experienced the idea of a ‘traditional’ family. She is humbled by the love the Bows have for each other, even though they don’t have the best living conditions. The Gift gives her a sense of overbearing responsibility and commitment to her family.In the extreme circumstances of the fire, she truly displays how much she really values her families and how her perception of family has changed during her trip to the past.

Abigail learns about the importance of family …show more content…

Before travelling back to 1873, Abigail was never given much responsibility and she did not care a lot about other things but, after she travelled back in time she started taking up more responsibility and putting more effort into protecting The Gift. This is a sign that Abigail has learnt to love, care and be responsible for her family.On page 58, Abigail is eager to get back to her time without helping the Bows and their Gift, after that she obtained help from Beatie but failed to go back in time. Frustrated, Abigail finds out that her pass back to the present is the delicate crochet collar she bought on the day she travelled back in time. Later in the book Dovey tells Abigail the whereabouts of the collar but Abigail swears to never open the lid of Dovey’s bridal chest ‘You know very well i would not as much lift the lid of Dovey’s bridal chest’ pg 118. This shows how much renewed responsibility The Gift has given her and how determined she is to save the Bows. The phrase ‘In there was her key to home, but the sense of honour prevented her from taking a knife and forcing the lid’ pg 119 sums up how much The Gift has affected her perception of family. Ruth Park uses imagery and dialogue to describe the situations and feelings of Abigail in her new

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