Themes

In the following section, we will present the main themes of the text and give you some ideas on how to approach them. Remember that the theme of a story is its underlying message. In other words, what critical belief about life is the author trying to convey? However, don’t forget that a story may have several themes.

In this case, we can infer that the big theme is the interior conflict of the protagonist. We can see that the correspondence with convict Woody sets off a whole range of feelings. She struggles with low self-esteem, and the feeling she is not good enough as a mother, as a woman. She is also challenged by the idea that she might be attracted to a “socially unfit” person. Remember Woody is both African-American and in prison. “...