Themes

The thematic ideas of trickery, desire, secrets, and sacrifice all played large roles in the novel, The Sweet Far Thing. They all applied to each character and pushed the plot to the climax.

True desire enveloped each of the characters drastically. Felicity was willing to risk her life to save her beloved Pippa from the Winterland creatures. Ann changed her character and personality simply to impress the music director and gave up her lifestyle to sing professionally. Gemma risked being expelled from Spence Academy for sneaking off with Kartik and trying to save the Realms from corruption.

Secrets both severed relationships and strengthened their core. The secret love affairs actually strengthened the girls' friendships because they came to understand each other better. But as of Gemma's sneaking off and meeting with Circe, that caused distrust amongst the girls because they weren't sure of each other's whereabouts anymore.

Sacrifice showed true love. The sacrifices of Pippa, Miss McCleethy, Kartik, and countless others served to show that if people were madly in love they would do anything for their loved ones. This pushed the plot and made the characters more realistic because real people could relate to their devastation and depression.

Trickery both fooled and matured Gemma throughout the course of the novel. At first it weakened her but without the plots and tricks, she wouldn't have been ready for the final battle. She also used trickery when she turned her army all into Gemma so the Winterland creatures would not recognize which one to sacrifice.

Outside Ready Quotes Assignment

Trickery- This plot evolves around secret plots and trickery. Gemma's power envelopes her with visions and images that are meant to throw her off her path.

1. "I'd had higher hopes for you, Gemma. You're in over your head. I shall see this Tree of All Souls for myself" (Bray 634).

Circe fooled Gemma into giving her enough magic to break free from the well and find the mystical Tree of All Souls herself. Gemma had gone to her for advice and had spilled out secrets of the Realms, ones that Circe could use against her. But Circe had always been the vengeful type, turning against her sisters and being fascinated with sacrifice.

2. "They could make you see what they wish you to see. It will be as if you are mad" (Bray 542).

The Winterland creatures had always been coniving, evil souls that would do whatever they had to to get what they wanted. They made Gemma envision the impossible which wrapped her in distrust and mystery. They also used her weaknesses against her, plotting around Kartik and her brother, Tom.

Sacrifice- Sacrifice was quite relevant in this novel because there was much blood shed and love lost. The whole scheme of the Winterland creatures was to sacrifice Gemma to recieve her power but in turn many of Gemma's friends and loved ones were sacrificed in order to restore peace to the Realms.

3. "Sometimes we must make sacrifices for the greater good...promise me you'll keep the magic safe" (Bray 748).

In order to save Gemma, Miss McCleethy sacrificed herself to keep Gemma on her mission. This kept the plot rolling and strengthened Gemma's trust in her friends and war partners. This also signified that Miss McCleethy was not evil for she gave her life for the greater good and to save the Chosen One.

4. "He draws me to him in a kiss...He pulls me tighter in his embrace. The roots sigh and release their hold on my waist and the wound in my side is healed" (Bray 778).

In another attempt to save Gemma, Kartik sacrifices himself to the Tree of All Souls which allows Gemma to give the magic back to the land and spoiling the Winterlands' plan. This is a devastating blow for Gemma because she was madly in love with him and now he was gone. This builds her character and she is forced to move on.

Secrets- Many secrets were kept in this novel, which tangled the plot and it's situations. Although the characters were trying to keep secrets to keep their loved ones safe, it ended up destroying relationships and severing trust.

5. "And suddenly, I understand what I must have always known about them- the private talks, the close embraces..." (Bray 664).

Felicity and Pippa always had a close relationship that Gemma was extremely jealous of. But now Gemma understands why their relationship was so tender, they were secret lovers. This broadened Gemma's understanding of her friends and allowed them to actually grow closer because the newfound openness.

6. "I should have to sleepwalk through my life not to feel the pull of those lips" (Bray 219).

But Gemma's friends were not only the ones hiding a love affair; Gemma too was madly in love with a forbidden Indian boy named Kartik. She told no one of this passion and when the truth leaked out it also helped her friends understand her. This love pulled her through her mission and kept her alive.

Desire- True seekers of desire will go to the end of the world to achieve it. Each character in this novel had a deep desire that would be willing to risk life and limb for to obtain it.

7. "Me, accept me, Papa" (Bray 794).

Since Gemma's father became addicted to opium, she was deprived of the fatherly charm a girl needed during her adolescent years. She deeply desired for him to be cured and so that she could have a functioning family again. She simply wanted for him to accept her for who she was an aspiring woman.

8. "Ann comes alive with a smile. Again we cheer" (Bray 540).

Ann struggled her whole life searching for happiness. She finally found it in singing and acting. She was willing to do anything she had to to be able to sing professionally for it was her passion. When the oppurtunity arrived she risked her reputation and feminism to achieve greatness.

All the Pretty Horses vs The Sweet Far Thing

The main characters of these novels share many similiar qualities and conflicts in each book respectively. They both experience forbidden love affairs, ones which wrap their minds with thoughts of their lovers, and would risk life and limb for them to be happy (Kartik and Alejandra). They both follow the basic hero quest pattern, both are also the hero/heroine in the novel. On their excursions, they both lose a beloved friend, which temporarily slows the pace but does not stop the hero from their quest. In both trips, the hero gets seperated from their friends and has to perservere alone, but in both books they got reunited. Sacrifice is evident in each book, to return to their lover they must both make critical decisions, and they both decided that it's the loved one that wins that choice. For both characters, their parents have a drug/alcohol problem, causing distress and turmoil internally for John Grady and Gemma. These parental issues cause the hero/heroine to take up the quest, compelling them to build the characters they had in the end. The obstacles that they encountered made them considerably stronger, learning how to master their weaknesses and improve their strengths.

Hero Quest Analysis

I also happen to believe that Gemma is a hero because of what she fought for and believed in. She perservered for equality and fought against evil, a trait of a hero. Her friends would also be classified as heroes as well then, for they fought some of the battles that Gemma did as well. Each character also had personal battles they had to fight internally in a world of choas and oppression. Each would be discovered as pariah to normal society. Gemma was magical, she was a feminist, and she did things her way even if that meant consequences. Ann was pudgy, poor, and had low self confidence, all traits a formal lady should acquire. And Felicity had a deep secret that had been billowing inside her for years, she a lesbian love affair with her best friend Pippa, a twist that none of her friends or schoolmates saw coming. She also was sexually abused by her father as a child, an emotional scarring that people rarely knew about. Together, they bonded together to form a new social norm, a pact where they could be themselves and not care what others thought. That in itself also made them heroes, an inspiration for other "weird" people to be satisfied with their images.

3/5 Hero Quest Pattern Cont.

Partners: Her beloved friends, Felicity, Ann, and Pippa, assist her with entering the Realms and the obstacles at school. Prissy girls such as Elizabeth and Cecily had to be taken care and when they would return from the Realms all of the girls would have bits of magic left in them to do with they please. And Kartik, Gemma's secret love who she simply cannot stop thinking about.
Obstacles: There are many snotty Spence girls who give Ann and Gemma trouble throughout their schooling, but with the help of magic and Felicity and Pippa, she easily triumphs the girls. But the Realms was not a place of fun and games, there were many monsters to be defeated and trickery from other magical groups to overcome. Also with Kartik, she isn't sure if he loves her back, this throws her for many loops and grief in her days at Spence.
Losing Guide: Pippa tragecially died in the Realms. This loss overcomes the friends in grief but especially Felicity, her best friend. This also makes Gemma's friends trust her less, because she was the one who left her there.
Ultimate Boon: She spends the whole book trying to unravel the mysteries of other magical organizations, trying to defeat the ultimate evil of the Winterlands. But she can only accomplish this mission if she cuts down the Tree of Souls with a specific Order dagger. She searches and searches and finally finds it in something she's had all along.
Sacrifice: Instead of the tree taking Gemma as it's new victim, Kartik gives himself, caging him in it's wrath forever. This is a devastating blow for Gemma, for her one true love is gone forever. Also on her way to the Winterlands, Miss. McCleethy sacrificed herself for he sake of the mission, spilling her blood all over the Borderlands.
Climax: The epic battle that defined the Realms and magic forever. It was 40 against thousands. But they disguised themselves all as Gemma and fought ruthlessly. But Gemma finally did stab the dagger into the Tree and magic was restored to the lands.
Rescue: In the real world, she refused to go to debut or to become a conforming woman, she desired to do what she wanted when she wanted. She then decided to travel to New York, a place of mystery, adventure, and oppurtunity.
Elixir: She still came out of it with her friends, magic, and love. Although she lost her one true love, she now has the oppurtunity to love again, and this new gained freedom is satisfying to Gemma.
Master of Two Worlds: She now has control of her wild magic, her body capable for it's power. She can use it safely, and she now has the freedom to live.

3/5 Hero Quest Pattern

Birth: Gemma Doyle was born with magic flowing through her veins and she was destined to be the priestess/Chosen One. Her mother was part of a magical organization named the Order, which Gemma would come to learn about with age.
Calling: Gemma spent her childhood years in the plains of India, playing with tigers and growing tan. Until Gemma's birthday when her mother was slaughtered by a member of the Order, she was summoned to Spence Academy for Girls. She had to lie and say her mother died of cholera but the truth gnawed inside her, scrating to get out.
Supernatural Guide: Her guide came in the form of a rugged, teenage boy, who at first tried to divert her from magic all together. He desired to silence her visions and not allow her to enter the realms, but being the feminist that she is, she ignores his constant suggestions and enters, soon to bring her beloved friends, Ann, Felicity, and Pippa. But this guide she soon fell hard for, loving his illusiveness and forbidenness.
Crossing the Threshold: When she steps foot in Spence Academy, there is no returning to India. Her mother was murdered, her father addicted to opium, and her brother a know-it-all twit, she has no where else to go in her life.
Land of Fulfillment: She finally enters the magical realms after realizing her powers. Here she and her friends can be whatever they want to be, they can turn dirt into diamonds or a tree into their dream man. Nothing can stop them in the beautiful place, they can be friends forever and live in complete happiness.

Desire (more characters)

The trio at Spence Academy was not the example of uncontrollable desire in this novel. Pippa and the factory girls were trapped in the Realms for eternity.
Pippa- After she died, she unknowingly ate the berries of the Realms, trapping her there forever. This changed her personality greatly, influencing her dark sides. Once Gemma gave her some magic, she could not stop the urges for more, the need for power. She went to the extent of killing one of her friends in the Realms as a sacrifice to get her own power from the evil Winterlands. She craved beauty, power, and control.
Factory girls- After they died in a tragic fire in which they were locked into the building and could not escape they simply desired safety. Pippa saved them from the Winterland creatures and led them to a castle in the Borderlands. Pippa was their master in some sorts, teaching them to be ladies and they had to obey her orders. They worshipped Pippa by the end of the novel, soaking in her beauty and power. They wanted to be safe again and Pippa gave them temporary relief and they would go to any extent to get that peace, even killing one of their own as a sacrifice.