Theme and message

Responsibility and liberty

The themes of responsibility and liberty are explored through the way the narrator feels about the events that led to her sister’s death. In her dreams, the narrator finds comfort in her lack of responsibility toward the incident. She states that “All I have to do is watch and be happy-nothing required of me after all” (p. 91, ll. 16-17). In this dream, the narrator disregards her responsibility of informing her mother about Caro jumping in the gravel pit. Instead, she can just watch the event unfolding as there are no negative consequences. Her dream suggests the narrator believes she was responsible for saving her sister's life. It could also suggest the narrator wishes she wasn't put in that situation and be freed from the burden of guilt; the latter is also suggested by her going to a counsellor and trying to understand what happened.

Responsibility and need for freedom is also discussed in relation to the narrator’s mother. The mother takes upon herself the responsibility of raising the children once she takes them away from their father and makes them move in with her. She seems to care for her children’s physical wellbeing, as she makes sure they are well dressed (p. 89, l. 35) and warns them against playing in dangerous areas (p. 90, l. 7). However, the narrator and ...