year of wonders essay
In what ways does Brooks explore both brutality and hope in Year of Wonders?
In the novel Year of Wonders, the text explores the brutality of nature and people within a small community stricken with disease, but also the sense of hope, which characters encounter in their own ways. The exploration of brutal maltreatment to particular characters within the novel emphasises the changes to everyone’s behaviour during the plague. From Anna having a childhood of abuse, to Puritans within the community of Eyam who dedicate themselves to self-harm, to rid all sin, shows the desperate measures the characters go to in order to grant their way to God. In contrast, Brooks manages to incorporate the theme of new life and hope to all in result of the plague. New perspectives of the world are formed, a sense of community is more evident and the plague ultimately changes the relationships between each character. Between brutality and hope, both are contrasting each other with Brooks exploring the positives and negative connotations of the plague and how each person is affected.
In the time of the 1600’s, women were badly treated by their husbands, if ever they were to speak against them. Brooks managed to incorporate this historical context throughout the novel, to emphasise the importance of women obeying their husbands, and putting up with their brutal and barbarous behaviour. When Anys Gowdie had her final act of defiance before she was killed, she had stated that many women had had affairs against their husbands. Urith Gordon endured harsh physical violence once her husband, John Gordon knew of the affair. “Before she could answer, he smashed his fist into her face. Blood streamed from her nose”. This quote shows that Brooks highlights the abusive nature, in which each character encounters, assert the mental and behavioural changes at the time of the plague for both male and female characters. Brooks mentions Anna’s father, Josiah Bont being a human of a “brutal and
In the novel Year of Wonders, the text explores the brutality of nature and people within a small community stricken with disease, but also the sense of hope, which characters encounter in their own ways. The exploration of brutal maltreatment to particular characters within the novel emphasises the changes to everyone’s behaviour during the plague. From Anna having a childhood of abuse, to Puritans within the community of Eyam who dedicate themselves to self-harm, to rid all sin, shows the desperate measures the characters go to in order to grant their way to God. In contrast, Brooks manages to incorporate the theme of new life and hope to all in result of the plague. New perspectives of the world are formed, a sense of community is more evident and the plague ultimately changes the relationships between each character. Between brutality and hope, both are contrasting each other with Brooks exploring the positives and negative connotations of the plague and how each person is affected.
In the time of the 1600’s, women were badly treated by their husbands, if ever they were to speak against them. Brooks managed to incorporate this historical context throughout the novel, to emphasise the importance of women obeying their husbands, and putting up with their brutal and barbarous behaviour. When Anys Gowdie had her final act of defiance before she was killed, she had stated that many women had had affairs against their husbands. Urith Gordon endured harsh physical violence once her husband, John Gordon knew of the affair. “Before she could answer, he smashed his fist into her face. Blood streamed from her nose”. This quote shows that Brooks highlights the abusive nature, in which each character encounters, assert the mental and behavioural changes at the time of the plague for both male and female characters. Brooks mentions Anna’s father, Josiah Bont being a human of a “brutal and