Messages in When She Woke

There are many different messages and thematic ideas in When She Woke many of which that are still present in today's times. However,  I am going to choose to focus on just a few of them. 

The first message that I am going to focus on in the separation of church and state. Throughout history and even a times during today's society. Without the separation of church and state, many problems are created and issues will arise. In When She Woke it causes many problems for Hannah. In this society it is against their religion to do many things, for example, abortion, this is the ruling that causes a problem for Hannah. Since the religion disallowed abortions in then became illegal in Texas for any woman to have an abortion. The society is heavily revolved around the churches views and their beliefs. The church is the main creator of the rules in the society and this causes many problems. If it wasn't for the churches involvement in the government Hannah would not have become a Red because having abortions would not be allowed. Personally, I strongly believe in separation of church and state, I believe that every person is entitled to their own opinions and should be able to express themselves in any way that they want. If there had been a separation of church and state in this society then Hannah would not have become a Red thus avoiding many problems for Hannah. 

Another message/thematic idea is the oppression of women in society. In When She Woke and in The Scarlet Letter, the women are the only ones who suffer any consequences for their actions, the men, on the other hand, get away with everything. This is an idea that is developed in many novels. Personally, I believe that this is an idea developed in many novels because it is common in every time period, even today. In earlier history the oppression of women was much worse than it is today, however, there is still oppression in today's society. We see oppression in today's society when it comes to unequal pay for women and the feminist movement that has been becoming more popular. This oppression women as being a thematic idea are very important because it is still relevant and is intriguing for many people to read because they can still relate it to events that are occurring in their lives. 

Although I only briefly touched upon a couple of the thematic ideas and messages of the novel it is clear that they are present for a reason, mostly because no matter what the time period they are still important and relevant.  Given the fact that the thematic ideas are always relevant also give more evidence to prove why I believe When She Woke is of literary merit and is AP worthy. These thematic ideas also are essential for the development of the novel and for developing the readers through and opinions of the characters and the situations. 

Unfortunatly, this is my last blog post about When She Woke, I hope you have enjoyed reading about the novel and I strongly suggest that everyone reading takes the time to read and enjoy the novel like I have.