Nov 22, 2008

The Bronze Bow | Themes

Hate
One of the prevalent themes in Speare’s novel is the effect of hate. In the beginning and throughout most of the novel, eighteen-year-old Daniel bar Jamin is motivated solely by his consuming hatred for the Romans who have killed his father and his uncle. He also blames the Romans for his mother’s death, for his own enslavement, for his sister’s madness, and for the eventual death of his grandmother. Daniel’s hate is so strong that he makes a solemn vow to God to avenge his parents for as long as he lives.

Daniel’s hate has begun to make him as ruthless...