What Does Rowell Use The Themes In Eleanor And Park?

Settings play an integral role, in the development of any story. They are a medium through which the author can explore themes and ideas. In Eleanor and Park, Rowell uses a range of settings to explore important themes and ideas. She does this through the association of important settings with a theme. Throughout the novel, this association is reinforced, until a point is reached, in which a single mention of the setting, will make readers reflect upon a certain theme or idea. The major settings in Eleanor and Park that explore an important theme include: Park’s home, Eleanor’s home and the school gym. It is important to understand how Rowell uses these settings to explore the themes of Love, Domestic Violence and Body Image.
When we think
In Eleanor’s home, we see the impact it has on Eleanor and her siblings, forcing them to develop coping mechanisms. At first, this coping mechanism for Eleanor and her siblings was rebellion, “Mouse used to steal Richie’s cigarettes and hide them. And Mouse was the one they’d send to knock on their mom’s door when they heard bedsprings…” (Rowell, 2013, pp.27). However, when their rebellion was crushed with Eleanor’s departure, the siblings and Eleanor had to find more discreet and self-focussed methods of coping. For them, it was being able to indulge in the simple pleasures of life that they were denied: The comic books, makeup, music and friendships. The concept of living normal lives and enjoying the small pleasures of life, gave Eleanor and her siblings hope, that maybe it really was just a bad dream, and it would all be over soon. Through the characters and events in this setting, Rowell is able to make the readers reflect upon the effects of domestic violence, and influence the way readers feel towards
Especially for a big awkward teenager like Eleanor, who is insecure about her own body. The segregation of the students in the gym class is a further reflection of how society perceives body image and Rowell wants to bring this to light: “Like they’d ever let her into honours gym. Eleanor would get put in remedial gym first. With all the other fat girls who couldn’t do sit-ups.” (Rowell, 2013, pp.31). Rowell uses the setting of the school gym, to show that society judges based on appearances, just like the way Eleanor was judged when she went on the school bus for the first time. Her insecurities in the gym and her self-consciousness when it came to her appearance, caused her to have further doubts during her relationship with Park. This is Rowell trying to shower that it is important to be ‘comfortable in your own skin’ (Rowell, 2013, pp.115), and that having self-confidence is important for the development of any teenager. The setting of the school gym was the ideal setting for Rowell to explore the idea of body image, it is a place where many insecurities lie in the open and where some teenagers like Eleanor, are at their most