Major+themes+and+moral+dilemmas

Even though events in //Year of Wonders// take place in 1665, the book raises many issues and questions that are relevant to our lives today. Some of the themes and moral dilemmas raised in the book are:

**Should I stay or should I go? Should I act in the interests of myself or my community?**

1. Play the video: [] -of The Clash singing – Should I stay or Should I go?

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2. Discuss the opinion piece in the Sydney Morning Herald regarding the decisions made by the Captain of the Costa Concordia //Courage untested until ship goes down// by Theodore Dalrymple in the Sydney Morning Herald, January 20, 2012 at Courage untested until ship goes down

This idea of staying or going is one of the major themes of //Year of Wonders.// What made the village of Eyam so unique, was the decision by the villagers to isolate themselves from the rest of the world so that the disease would not spread to other communities. Geraldine Brooks says, “The unique thing about Eyam′s quarantine was that it was voluntary. I was able to find no other examples of such communal self-sacrifice. In London, Samuel Pepys writes in his journal of the terrible treatment meted out to plague victims: "We are become as cruel as dogs one to another." There, the houses of plague victims were sealed and guarded, locking in the well with the ill, with no one to bring food, water, or comfort of any kind. Pepys writes that you could hear the cries of the afflicted coming from the houses, which were marked with large red crosses and the words "God Have Mercy."

In the novel Brooks, outlines multiple arguments to stay or to go. You could ask students to get into pairs and act out these lines together so they can experience what the words mean.

"Greater love no man hath than this, that he lay down his life for a friend," p. 101 Mr Mompellion

"But how would we repay the kindness of those who received us, if we carried the seeds of the Plague to them? What burden would we bear if, because of us, hundreds die who might have lived? No! Let us accept this Cross. Let us carry it in God's Holy Name!" p.104 Mr Mompellion

"I said then, and I say now, that my life and the lives of my family are of more consequence to me than some possible risk to strangers." Colonel Bradford p.112

"Think of the good that you might yet do here...Your courage has long been celebrated. Why not add a new chapter? ...I could learn much form your counsel as to how best go on as events unfold here." p.113 Mr Mompellion

"I did not raise my daughter to have her play wet nurse to a rabble. And if I desired to succour the afflicted I would have joined you in Holy Orders." p.113 Colonel Bradford

'The people will not forgive you for abandoning them." p.114 Mr Mompellion

"And you think I care for the opinion of a few sweaty miners and their snotty-nosed brats?" p.114 Colonel Bradford

"I...do have a choice. And I propose to exercise it." p.115 Colonel Bradford

'Enjoy your books. Enjoy them now! For their are no pockets in a shroud!" p.116 Mr Mompellion

The Bradford family bears the brunt of Mompellion′s rage when they leave town to save themselves. However, weren′t they only doing what every other noble family did in those days: run because they had the means to run? Can you really blame the Bradfords for running?

How much of Mompellion′s push for the quarantine had to do with the secrets he shared with Elinor? Did his own dark side and self-loathing push him to sacrifice the town or was he really acting out of everyone′s best interests?

Would you have stayed? Or would you have gone? Who has the ability to choose? What do you need in order to leave? Can we relate the story of this town′s extraordinary sacrifice to our own time? Is it unrealistic to expect a village facing a similar threat to make the same decision nowadays? What lessons might we learn from the villagers of Eyam?

**Should people take justice into their own hands?**

One of the most powerful and gruesome scenes in the novel is when the villagers decide to determine if the Mem and Anys Gowdie women are witches. Keeping in mind that this story takes place a good twenty-five years before the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts, what is the role of the Gowdie women in the novel? What is it about these women that drives their neighbours to murderous rage? How does their nonconformity lead to their becoming scapegoats?


 * God versus nature and faith versus futility**

One of the major themes in the book is the role of God in determining what happens in our lives. Faith is questioned.


 * Medicine versus herbal knowledge versus magic**

There is an going argument between pages of the novel between the herbal knowledge practiced in the village by the Gowdies and the developing field of Medicine as well as the magic practices employed by desperate villagers. Which one is right? Which approach is the most effective?