Write about the theme of family love which is portrayed
through the characters in the novel that you have studied.
Support your
answer with close
reference to the text.
[15 marks]
The
novel that I have chosen to portray the theme of
family love is “Step by Wicked Step” by AnneFine. This
novel is regarding five British school
children from Stagfire who shared their joys, sorrows and anxieties of their
family life. It all begin when they arrived ahead of their classmates for a
week-long field trip at "haunted' Old Harwick Hall. In the stormy wild
night, Claudia,
Pixie, Robbo, Ralph and Colin find a long-abandoned secret room
containing a mysterious journal with the aid of flashes of lightning. They
uncover a heart rending story of Richard Clayton Harwick, who runs away from
the sinister influence of a loveless stepfather. This discovery triggers off
each of them to reveal and share their own engrossing, heart-rending
stories filled with hurting and healing moments way through a minefield of
embittered or uncommunicative or just plain immature parents, insecure or
reluctant step parents and resentful step siblings. The implied themes in this
novel are revealed through the characters thoughts, speech, actions, reactions
and what others say about them. Thus, based on this novel, I have
chosen to write on Richard Clayton Harwick’s family members who have portrayed
the theme of family love amazingly and dramatically through sense of love,
devotion and loyalty.
