Themes- Kiana

Themes: There are many themes in this novel, many of which apply today in modern life and also many that were mostly only strong in the era in which the book was based. These are most of the themes applied in the book, A Gathering Light. Thematic statements of two themes:
 * Racism
 * Feminism
 * Sexism
 * Ambition
 * Crime
 * Education
 * Revelation
 * Poverty/Wealth
 * Farming/country

Racism: Damage can be inflicted on both the person it was aimed and also the one who dealt the blow.

In the story, Weaver has a lot of hatred towards the people that make fun of Him for the colour of his skin, and always gets into fights when he is trying to defend himself. In this part of the story, Weaver gives the tourists that called him coloured "what they deserve", by sending them to the foul tempered American-Indian man who lives in the nearby mountain: "A genuine redskin imagine that! He'll be the perfect guide to the real Ho De Ron Dah!"

Weaver grinned from ear to ear." Yes ma'am he sure will" he said

"You're going to have four murders on your conscience Weaver Smith" I said

"They shouldn't have called me coloured."...

In this part, Weaver knows that the man he is sending the tourists to is a man who is accustomed to the western life and has a bad temper, especially for being called a "redskin". He still sends the racist tourists who are wrongly expecting to be happily greeted by a man in headdress, complying with stereotypes fully knowing what they will come to face because he believes that they deserve to be punished because of their stupid assumptions, which in my view is fair enough.

Ambition: Ambition can both make your dreams come true and block any way of living.

In A Gathering Light, Mattie's dream is to go to university and become a writer, to speak (rather write) her mind and get people to hear her as Weaver wants as well. In the story, she talks about her dream and she is afraid of achieving it because she has many responsibilities in her family and with her town and she is afraid she will just have to give up her dreams and just settle down with Royal Loomis. The point about blocking any way of living is that Mattie's ambition to become a writer is the one thing she wants more than anything in the world and that if she doesn't reach it, she feels like she can never live happily or that she may even end up dead, like Grace Brown. In the end, her ambition and will determines her to leave her home and go to university to finally reach her dream.