Theme Of The Book 'The Midnight Zoo' By Sonya Hartnett: Summary

Freedom is a significant theme is the book, The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett. The book features the loss and gain of freedom in many ways, and expresses the importance of freedom. Sonya Hartnett shows this theme by using symbols, motifs and genre throughout the book and by showing the effect of war on people such as the Rom, gadje, Andrej or Tomas. The animals lose their freedom and are caught in cages while Andrej and Tomas witness the killing of their entire clan. They are tied within the chaos of war and the loss of their closest ones. The massacre stays within their mind, acting like cages, keeping the children’s joy caged. This is why freedom is an important theme in this book, and if the book is without it, the book won’t fit together. …show more content…
They always kept moving and never settled down, unlike the gadje who are “people you see building houses and hoeing fields and fencing off what they claim is theirs”. The Romani people “are closer to the animals, unburdened, unowned and free”. However, their freedom was taken away by soldiers who had “been like spoiled boys, [that had] became coolly polished and professional”. The soldiers came to the camp and the red kite that had been a symbol of freedom became the source of loss of freedom as it was like a “beacon above the trees” bringing the soldiers to the camp. With a similar effect like the animal’s cages, the soldiers throw some men some shovels to dig their own graves. This act shows the loss of freedom the Rom used to have. Andrej and Tomas also share a loss in freedom because Andrej, although he is “not in a cage, but – [he does not] feel free, [he] always [feels]…hunted”. The Rom people changed from being free to being the ones