There are many themes that show themselves in this novel. In chapter 14 these are the particular themes that seem to reappear throughout the book.
Punishment:
In chapter 14, the main idea is that he is seeking revenge and is going to punish someone that betrayed him. This idea of punishment is clearly evident when he is trying to do harm to those who have betrayed him. The chapter shows that even if he is serving out ‘justice,’ he himself must take punishment as a consequence of his actions.
Justice:
Said seems to strongly believe that he is the side of justice. “They, the people, everyone – all the people except the real robbers – are on my side, and that’s what will console me in my everlasting perdition. I am, in fact, your soul. You’ve sacrificed me.” (Page 248 )
Said believes that, “a world without morals is like a universe without gravity.” (Page 251) Through this quote, Said makes the analogy that morals are just as necessary to society as the laws of physics are to our universe. This is a good way to emphasize how strongly he feels to the idea of justice.
“No bullet could clear away its absurdity. But at least a bullet will be right, a bloody protest, something to comfort the living and the dead, to let them hold on to their last shred of hope.” (Page 248 ) This quote illustrates the question if violence can solve violence. Said seems to believe that using violence is wrong but that sometimes, it must be used to protest even greater wrongs in the world. This relates to the previous statement in the ‘Characterization’ section that if one decides to shoot a ‘bullet,’ one must be willing to take a ‘bullet.’
Tags: justice, morals, punishment, themes, violence
February 1, 2009 at 5:04 pm |
Aren’t themes usually more than one word? And which book are you writing about anyway? You haven’t mentioned it. What is Said’s idea of justice? What are his moral’s? Who does he think to punish, and why does he feel so strongly about being betrayed? What does this say about Said?
i think there’s a lot that you haven’t thought about.