Red Sky in the Morning by Elizabeth Laird Essay

I think an important event in the novel Red Sky In The Morning by Elizabeth Laird is Ben’s birth. This is an important event because Ben is handicapped, which teaches Anna and her family how different life can be and how to cope when you have a disabled child in the family. Ben’s birth triggered a lot of other important events in the novel, such as Anna being scared to tell her classmates about her brother and Miranda finding out about Ben.

Firstly, Ben is a handicapped child. Even though he is disabled, Anna still loves him very much. Anna said that kissing Ben was like kissing a rose. Anna said to Ben, “I don’t care how handicapped you are, I love you. I’ll always love you. I’ll protect you, and look after you. If anyone’s going to be mean to you, they’ll have to deal with me first.”
“I hadn’t ever seen anything so beautiful in my life.”-Anna thoughts when she first sees Ben

Secondly, Anna and her family learn how different life can be and how to cope when you have a disabled child in the family. When Anna took Ben outside to the parade furthest away from her school, people said mean things about Ben.
“It’s a shame letting a child like that out where a pregnant woman might see it. Oughtn’t to be allowed”-An old woman who sees Ben in the park
“Oh look, Mummy. That baby’s got such a funny head.”-A child who sees Ben

Finally, if Ben had not been born or disabled, Anna’s life would have taken a completely different path. She wouldn’t have tried to hide the fact that Ben was disabled to her classmates, become friends with Miranda or started looking after Jackie.
“Ben, oh, Ben”-Anna’s thoughts when she sees Jackie in Mrs Chapman’s shop
“It wasn’t the little girl who gave me the shock, though. It was the position in which her mother had left the pushchair.”-Anna’s thoughts when she sees the positioning of Jackie’s pushchair

In conclusion, the most important event in the novel is Ben’s birth because Ben is handicapped, he taught Anna and her family how