GAN Recap

As the year comes to a close I thought I would summarize what I thought the meaning of some, but not all, of the novels we read were. To start off with, A Farewell to Arms is mostly about how love can change people and the randomness of life. Both Catherine and Frederic Henry are improved by love but become too centered on each other and ignore the other problems in their relationship and life. One major theme present throughout the novel is the randomness of life and death. Throughout the novel characters are injured or killed seemingly at random; whether it be from war or illness nobody seemed safe and their lives could end at any moment. The Grapes of Wrath seems to be both a denouncement of capitalism and an illustration of how natural altruism is. Those who are not controlled by capitalism in the novel act kindly and selflessly, while those who have wealth are cruel, even if they don’t want to be. Lastly, Pudd’nhead Wilson is mostly meant to point out the flaws in the claim that white people are superior and to denounce slavery. It also, to me, claims that somebody’s character is formed by their experiences more than their nature and birth.