Theme of Abandonment, Alienation, and/or Isolation

[Danielle]

This is a place for you to discuss how the themes of abandonment, alienation, and/or isolation appears in the books you are reading. How do your characters experience it? What are the character's feelings? What are your personal thoughts? Don't forget to tell us what book you are reading.

[Jalynne]

The Tommyknockers
This novel has a great start as the main character, Anderson, is isolated from everyone else and faces a force of supernatural. Bravery is a key to which the main character has to have to solve this specific mystery. Not only does this mystery spreads conflict over her life, her age plays a role as well.

[James]

The Hobbit handles abandonment through a wizard always leaving the group right before they need him most. The characters that are being abandoned are of course extremely distraught and angry when it happens. My thoughts on it are that it could have been avoided if the wizard had just stuck with the rest of the group.

[Sid]

AsunderIn my book, there are many different themes. Isolation is relevant to all of the mages in the circle, being locked away in the tower that's heavily guarded by the templars. In recent years, they've been less and less able to do anything out of free will, other than work on their studies. Another reason for abandonment is the feelings of Cole, who was left in his cell to die, and eventually did. He roams the halls of the tower as a being with unusual criteria. He's like a ghost, though only a few can see him, and if they can, he kills them to return some sort of humanity into his being.

[Drew]

Peak
A young mountain climber abandoned by his father at a young age gets in trouble for climbing a skyscraper. His father comes back after the crime to come take Peak, his son, away to Mount Everest to become the youngest person to reach the summit. Peak does not know whether his father has come back for him or the glory of having the youngest son reach the summit.

[Pablo]

the novels main character mick isolates himself because of the effect that the steroids he is taking are doing on his body. he also isolates himself because he doesn't want his friends and teammates to find out he is doing steroids.

[Ashley]

In Dragon Champion, Auron is a young drake traveling alone across the land. He has to hunt and fend for himself against humans who want to rid the world of dragons. Even after making allies and friends, he eventually has to leave to avoid being hunted down by humans.

[Grace]

In my current book, Where She Went, the theme of abandonment has started to appear. In the beginning he was thrilled that they had reunited and was overwhelmed with excitement. Now that they have spent some time together, he remembers what she did to him and secretly wants an apology. I was not expecting him to feel this way.

[Michaela]

In my book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hermione is currently isolating herself and keeping secrets from Harry and Ron. They are suspicious of her. She is doing this to take more classes than she needs. The way she does this is significant later in the book.

[Alex]

in the book Cress, two of the characters get stranded in the desert and have to find there way back to their friends. they feel scared desperate but with luck, they find a way to survive.

[Graeme]

The theme of alienation and isolation are currently heavily present in John Perkins' Confessions of an Economic Hitman. About three quarters of the way into the book, Perkins begins to take a deeper look at and act upon the feelings of shame and guilt growing inside him. Several times throughout the book he Perkins is referred to as a man between two worlds. On one hand, he has a conscience and feels remorse for the crimes he committed for the government. But on the other hand he feels that he may to some degree be helping the people of the nations he works in and enjoys the prestige and money from the job too much. He feels disconnected from the world around him and feels that he doesn't belong in the common populous or with the government. I'm not sure what he will do from this point forward, but he is finally contemplating the direction he needs to take after questioning his decisions since his original indoctrination into his line of work.

[Will]

In the book Firestarter, the main character, Andy, and his daughter, Charlie, are on the run from government agents after they obtain superpowers from a medical experiment. The father and daughter have to run from these agents for the sake of their lives. They isolate themselves in very low populated areas and they do not feel as much as a family without a home and wife/mother.

[Graeme]

Once again in Confessions, Perkins is struggling with the concept of what he is doing. He still feels remorse for indirectly causing the death and suffering of millions living in third world nations.

[Sky]

My book, Taken, shows a theme of isolation due to the fact the main character is abducted and confined in the back of a van disguised as an ambulance. She is isolated from everything, has been drugged, and is unaware of what has happened with no recolection of the previous events. The isolation causes her mind to wander, and she thinks of everything shes learned about abductions and cant figure out what to do. The combination of being in shock and drugged results in scattered thoughts.

[Jacob]

in the book huge gene is isolated from his sister and his mother when they stop paying attention to him and are not usually at home

[Aaron]

In my book, The 5th Wave, Casey has to deal with the theme of isolation as aliens have taken the shape of humans so everyone distrusts each other. This isolation causes Casey to be reckless and have a shoot first ask questions later personality. She later overcomes this when she has to team up with a total stranger to save her little brother.

[Will]

In my book, Firestarter, Andy Mcgee and his daughter, Charlie, who have super abilities, are being chased by a government agency call The Shop. The Shop intends to capture them and do experiments. On the run from the agency, the father and daughter have to isolate themselves from the world. After the Shop killed Andy's wife, the Mcgees have had to stay in the shadows and constantly on the look out for the government. They feel a sense of hopelessness.