Main Themes In The Sparrow

One of the keywords, that is repeated over and over again in The Sparrow is, “Knowledge.” Mary Doria Russell uses this to show one of the main themes, of the novel; spread and gain of knowledge. The main point of the Jesuit group wanting to send a mission in the first place was because they wanted to spread knowledge. While many others wanted to go in the pursuit of knowledge. They wanted to know what this other species was like, if they spoke, how they could communicate through radio waves, and how their planet was in comparison to their own. Some individuals even went in a search to find more about God and expand his knowledge about his creator and his purpose. Emilio states, “We have to find out about them. There is simply no alternative. We have to know them. You said it yourself, Anne! Think of the theology.” (page 99) Emilio is trying to convince Anne that they can’t miss out on this opportunity; the chance for academic gain is too great. Knowledge is one of the main themes of the story as the different individuals and group characters continue throughout the story in the search of knowledge. As the characters pegress, they slowly start finding the …show more content…
The novel is a cycle of pursuit of knowledge. The characters gain what they originally set out for only to want more. This is most prominent in the Society of Jesus. They learn about Rakhat and how dangerous it is after but still want to send out another mission. They want to know more about this society but also spread more about God. It is also shown in the other characters such as Emilio’s constantly finding and losing God throughout the course of the novel. Knowledge is one of the most prominent keywords and themes throughout the novel and I feel this relates well to real life as. Everyone is always searching for something and when they finally find it they are off looking for something