Year Of Wonders Analysis
Year of Wonder explores the complexity of human nature and the consequences of human actions
“He brought the wide world with him” Anna Frith admires George Viccars for being well-travelled but does not realise that he has brought not only his knowledge of the world but also the perils of disease with him. Silhouetted against the sepulchral backdrop of the blighted Eyam, Geraldine Brooks depicts a community caught in extraordinary times in her historical novel “Year of Wonder”. The novel conveys the complications and ramifications of human nature and human actions, interwoven with the cultural value of religion and beliefs in addition to the social value of trust. Brooks illustrates that the nature suspect and distrust has stemmed from the …show more content…
It is possible that the plague is merely exacerbating tensions already present with in the village but it does so to an unprecedented degree. Thus, certain individuals of a somewhat antisocial and self-serving bent find their actions and inclinations magnified by the advent of the Plague. Josiah Bont, who is Anna’s abusive father, becomes a gravedigger, willing to pursue homicide as a stimulus to his profits; his wife, Aphra, shamelessly exploits the anxieties of her fellow villagers for monetary gain by pretending to be the ghost of the deceased Anys Gowdie. In what is, perhaps, a less culpable fashion, David Burton seizes the opportunity to advance his own interest at the expense of Merry Wickord, whose family mine has been left open to claim by the death of her parents. Instances such as these suggest that Michael Mompellion’s assertion that “the Plague will make heroes of us all”, however optimistic, is not well founded. Even more strikingly, the readiness of the villagers to turn against Mem and Anys Gowdie, whose service as healers have been much in demand, indicates that the plague deepens the rifts already exists in the community. As Jon Millstone comments, there is a grave danger that the time “will make monsters of us all”. Therefore it is the villagers own nature which acts as the catalyst for further tragic
“He brought the wide world with him” Anna Frith admires George Viccars for being well-travelled but does not realise that he has brought not only his knowledge of the world but also the perils of disease with him. Silhouetted against the sepulchral backdrop of the blighted Eyam, Geraldine Brooks depicts a community caught in extraordinary times in her historical novel “Year of Wonder”. The novel conveys the complications and ramifications of human nature and human actions, interwoven with the cultural value of religion and beliefs in addition to the social value of trust. Brooks illustrates that the nature suspect and distrust has stemmed from the …show more content…
It is possible that the plague is merely exacerbating tensions already present with in the village but it does so to an unprecedented degree. Thus, certain individuals of a somewhat antisocial and self-serving bent find their actions and inclinations magnified by the advent of the Plague. Josiah Bont, who is Anna’s abusive father, becomes a gravedigger, willing to pursue homicide as a stimulus to his profits; his wife, Aphra, shamelessly exploits the anxieties of her fellow villagers for monetary gain by pretending to be the ghost of the deceased Anys Gowdie. In what is, perhaps, a less culpable fashion, David Burton seizes the opportunity to advance his own interest at the expense of Merry Wickord, whose family mine has been left open to claim by the death of her parents. Instances such as these suggest that Michael Mompellion’s assertion that “the Plague will make heroes of us all”, however optimistic, is not well founded. Even more strikingly, the readiness of the villagers to turn against Mem and Anys Gowdie, whose service as healers have been much in demand, indicates that the plague deepens the rifts already exists in the community. As Jon Millstone comments, there is a grave danger that the time “will make monsters of us all”. Therefore it is the villagers own nature which acts as the catalyst for further tragic