Essay Questions

What is the historic significance of the character Beryl Markham in the novel Circling the Sun?

Markham is born in England but raised in Kenya during the colonial period. She grows up without the presence of her parents and she is forced to understand how to survive the tough situations on her own. When she finally grows and attains the age of 18, she becomes a horse trainer. She opts to train horses after her adventure for love and relationships fail on several occasions. Her dedication to horse training enables her to get a fully-fledged license for training horses making her the first woman to hold that title in the history of Kenya.

How does the author depict the idea of compulsive imagination to the reader?

The main character in the novel, Markham, is portrayed as an individual is who does anything unlawful to get the pleasures she wants. The reader learns that Markham's behavior is influenced by her childhood experiences. Firstly, she lacks parental guidance which makes her a wild child. Secondly, she is raped while young and this increases her appetite for sex for the most part of her life. Her sexual adventures are unhealthy and dangerous and that why most of her relationships fail.

How does McLain build the theme of ill-fated sex life?

After reading the novel Circling the Sun, the reader is quick to conclude that Markham is a prostitute. The life of Markham is filled with unfortunate events. Besides growing up lacking adequate parental love, Markham is unlucky in her marriage too. She is first married to a neighbor who is abusive and alcoholic which makes this relationship fail. Markham later gets in love with Finch Hatton who misuses her sexually and later dumps her. These unfortunate ill-fated sex life forces Markham to relocate to the highlands to dedicate most of her time in horse training.