What are the main Burial Rites themes?

[hdxx]

What are the main Burial Rites themes? 

[lilyrosee]

What are the main Burial Rites themes? 

VCAA Text Description:
Burial Rites is a re-imagining of the events leading up to the last public execution in Iceland, the beheading of Agnes Magnúsdóttir. The narrative opens in 1829, when the condemned woman is transferred to the isolated home of Jón Jónsson’s family to undergo spiritual counselling with the young assistant reverend, Tóti, and await her execution. Kent captures the domineering, unforgiving nature of the landscape of northern Iceland and its influence over the characters’ lives. As the story of Agnes’s early life and the circumstances surrounding her crime become apparent, preconceived notions of innocence and guilt are challenged, and powerful relationships are formed. The text’s richness is achieved through the use of flashbacks, multiple narrators and excerpts from archival material. The various perspectives humanise the protagonist and highlight the unreliable nature of stories. With accessible language and a compelling plot, this text has the capacity to transport the reader to another time and place.

Themes From VCAA Interpretation:
-Isolation (2015)
-Belonging (2016)
-Life & Death (2015)
-Spiritual journey
-Unforgiving nature of the landscape - how it influences characters’ lives -Innocence vs guilt
-The power of preconceptions -How Kent humanises Agnes -Unreliable nature of stories (2016)

VCAA 2015:
i. ‘Burial Rites is about death, but it is also about life.’ Discuss.
OR
ii. “I am determined to close myself to the world ...”
‘Although Agnes is imprisoned at the farm, she retains her internal freedom.’ Discuss.

VCAA 2016:
i. Natan shouts: “Remember your place, Agnes!”
‘Agnes’s problem is that she has no place to belong.’ Do you agree?
OR
ii. “Everything I said was taken from me and altered until the story wasn’t my own.” ‘Agnes’s fate is determined by the stories told by others.’
Discuss.

VATE Sample 2017:
i. “I had found what I had not known I was hungering for.” ‘Above all, Burial Rites is a story of love.’
Discuss
OR
‘In Burial Rites, both the setting and its people are presented as harsh and unforgiving.’ To what extent do you agree?