Themes In Year Of Wonders By Geraldine Brooks

Written in 1894, “The Story of an Hour” is a story of a woman who, through the erroneously reported death of her husband, experienced true freedom. Both tragic and ironic, the story deals with the boundaries imposed on women by society in the nineteenth century. The author Kate Chopin, like the character in her story, had first-hand experience with the male-dominated society of that time and had experienced the death of her husband at a young age (Internet). The similarity between Kate Chopin and her heroine can only leave us to wonder how much of this story is fiction and how much is personal experience.

While reading Behind the Beautiful Forevers, I found the prologue to a bit confusing. The reader suddenly learns that the presumed main character, Abdul, is going into hiding while his father, Karam is going to offer himself to the police. I suppose the author was trying to set up direction of the story and then backtrack to the beginning where she would discuss the events that led up to the scene written in the prologue. It reads like one of those news magazine television shows, such as 48 Hours, wherein the show starts off with the attention grabbing main event in order to grab the audience and keep them interested. Such a format would be in line for Ms. Boo since she is a journalist by trade.

To understand this theme one must first understand the characters in this book. A prime example of an unhappy character

These aspects of the religious theme are especially important in the development of the plot of "Greenleaf."

The two major themes in this novel are revenge and survival. Revenge is major because Ishmael’s motive and many other soldiers’ motives throughout his soldier career was getting revenge on somebody. Survival is a major theme because everywhere in his story he is just trying to make it another day.

The seventeenth-century era forms the perfect setting that encaptivates the audience along a survival journey of a woman who is forced to face the life threatening plague of the 1600’s head on. Protagonist, Anna Frith watches the transformation of the town as they turn from religion to murderous witch-hunting and natural medicines for alternative answers. Geraldine Brooks has combined the use of ideas, representations, values and beliefs to foreground the theme of religion vs. science within the 2001 novel. The elaboration on a true events embraces (what are the ideas, representations etc) that creates a novel of drama, romance and adventure.

The Novel Six Impossible things, written by Fiona Wood, tells the story of a teenager dealing with the separation of the family, moving, going to a social event with a crush, and having to get home by midnight. It is similar to the fairy tale story Cinderella. Both stories follow the same broad outline. The ideologies present in the book, such as your dream can come true and act upon opportunities provided to you, are developed through the author’s use of structure plot and characters. Six impossible things can be seen as a modern-day fairy tale due to the fact that both Cinderella and Six impossible things have the same underlying ideologies.

The function of religion plays a significant role in the narrative, especially the dissimilarities between the narrator's religious beliefs and the "Other" religion of her captors. More specifically the Puritan ideology of the

A major theme in this book is about God. Seen in, “If there is going to be hope and a hope of wholeness, is the unshaking need for an unshakeable God.” (23) Maya’s grandma is a firm believer of God, and since Maya moves in with her, she forces Maya to go to church every Sunday. Even through all the trials and

Kate Grenville's episodic novel Joan Makes History (1988) is also "good to think with" in term of national identity. Grenville deviates from exploring Amanda Lohrey's suggestion of a "suitable past" (1996). Instead of celebrating what Lohrey describes as "mindless nationalism" (1996, p 150), in the invented traditions of Australian society, national identity, political progression and territory, Grenville explores the key periods of Australian history through the first-person narration, presenting subjective perspectives on the cultural ‘turning points' of the past century. The episodic structure of the story allows Grenville to fully explore the diverse cultural perspectives of these events, as thus communication the message of how

The theme of the story is under some circumstances people can be blind to the truth. Character Edie determines the style of the story by talking about the circumstances of her life as a fifteen year old girl and as an older woman. She retells the stories of those that she has known, and the man that she believed she loved deeply. Sometimes the things we want to happen may not be the things that life has for us. We need to be open to all the opportunities in life that are different from what we believe.

The theme most easily interpreted from the book is the never ending conflict of good vs. evil. Through the conflict we see a recurring theme of good vs. evil. For example, whether it was a good side of a person vs. the dark side, an evil person vs. the innocent civilized society, or a wretched scientist vs. a practical ethical doctor, we see it used in all three previously given examples of conflict. Another example is although there is good in Dr. Jekyll, we see as the book goes on that he cannot hide his dark and evil alter ego. Even through science it is deemed to be impossible to erase the devilish and foul urges the doctor possesses. It seems that evil seems to win more than good which is why the book tends to give off a creepy dark vibe.

There is a very notable lack of religion among the main characters. Each of them has some form or corruption or sin affecting them.

The city of Mumbai has seen much growth in the past years. A string of elegant hotels have been set up for travelers and high-class business men. An ever growing, top of the line airport has been built for those coming in and out of the country. From the outside, Mumbai seems to have taken a liking to being internationally integrated with the rest of world, otherwise known as globalization. This is not the case, however; as seen in Katherine Boo’s novel Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity. This novel is set in a slum right next to the Mumbai International Airport called

The poem “The Mother” written by Gwendolyn Brooks in 1945, is a poem that focuses on the immeasurable losses a woman experiences after having an abortion. The poems free verse style has a mournful tone that captures the vast emotions a mother goes through trying to cope with the choices she has made. The author writes each stanza of the poem using a different style, and point of view, with subtle metaphors to express the speaker’s deep struggle as she copes with her abortions. The poem begins with, “Abortions will not let you forget” (Brooks 1), the first line of the poem uses personification to capture your attention. The title of the poem has the reader’s mindset centered around motherhood, but the author’s expertise with the opening line, immediately shifts your view to the actual theme of the poem. In this first line the speaker is telling you directly, you will never forget having an abortion. Brooks utilizes the speaker of the poem, to convey that this mother is pleading for forgiveness from the children she chose not to have.