Reference no: EM133680429

Question: Add a complete statement of theme to a paragraph analyzing a theme in Gregor the Overlander:

Read the following partial paragraph analyzing how Gregor the Overlander explores a thematic topic/issue. Then complete the paragraph by writing a full statement of theme that fits with the analysis and supporting evidence provided.

Gregor the Overlander explores the age-old question about the extent to which an individual's choices (free will), rather than external forces beyond the individual's control (fate or circumstances) determine a person's actions and their outcomes. At first glance, fate, as embodied by the prophecy, seems to outweigh free will. Vikus tells Gregor, "You are but one player in a very long and difficult tale. 'The Prophecy of Gray' trapped you, as it trapped us, long ago" (133). Along with fate, social forces seem to constrain individual choice. When Vikus asks Luxa, angry at his plan to have Ripred guide the questers, whether she'll continue with the quest, she bitterly responds, "Can I return to our people and tell them I withdrew from the quest when our survival hangs in the balance?. . . . Do not offer me a choice when you know none exists" (212-213). Expected consequences also seem to constrain choices. After his alliance with the rats is discovered, Henry apologizes to Luxa, but argues "I had no choice" because he believed Vikus's policies would lead to disaster (260). He then tells her that she has no choice but to join with him or die. Yet the novel shows that characters still make significant choices, even though some choices are influenced by the prophecy. The Regalians choose to accept Gregor as Warrior and to ensure that the terms of the prophecy are met, believing that the doing so is the only way to avoid annihilation. Luxa chooses not to join Henry. Gregor realizes he must "decide where he stood" (264) and chooses to leap so that "by his death, the others would live" (266). Ares chooses to deny the vows of his bonding with Henry and to save Gregor instead. These decisions lead to a very different conclusion to the novel than would have occurred if these individuals had made different choices. By showing the competing roles of external forces and individual choices, Gregor the Overlander develops the theme that [conclude the paragraph by completing this sentence, adding a full statement of theme].