Both Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, and Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle, are multi-faceted stories with central themes that repeat themselves throughout. The strongest and most repeated theme is that of control, especially when shown through the eyes of each book's main character. ... In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie, the main character, is shown in her middle age returning to her hometown. ... Complete rule over a person's environment is another manifestation of the theme of control. ... Merricat feels as if he were trying to ...

• Word Count: 1902
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

THEMES Betrayal Patrick Maloney's unexplained decision to leave his pregnant wife. ... Their identity, or at least their competency, is thrown into doubt. ... Her eyes waited on him for an answer, a smile, a little nod, but he made no sign. ... She moved uneasily in her chair, the large eyes still watching his face. ... It didn't take long, four or five minutes at most, and she say very still through it all, watching him with a kind of dazed horror as he went further and further away from her with each word. ...

• Word Count: 2792
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: High School

A group of boys tries to fight their way into the thicket, but Ralph fends them off. ... Jack's hunters reach the beach and stop in their tracks upon seeing the officer. ... Moved and embarrassed, the naval officer turns his back so that the boys may regain their composure. ... Ultimately, the boys' appalling savagery brings about the rescue that their coordinated and purposeful efforts were unable to achieve. ... Much of the novel is allegorical, meaning that the characters and objects in the novel are infused with symbolic significance that conveys the novel's central themes ...

• Word Count: 11237
• Approx Pages: 45
• Grade Level: High School