Religion and faith
Perhaps, religion occupies the most important place in the life of the characters in the novel. The family of Katie Fisher lives for the sake of religion in a literal sense, especially her father Aaron. The Amish is a religious movement, whose members are Katie and her parents. These people follow the traditional way of life – they live without electricity and televisions, do not drink or smoke, have sex only after marriage. It seems that they are doing everything right, but the Amish are prisoners of their religion. Katie realizes this when she visits her brother in college. She wants to be free and happy like her brother Jacob, but the church is very strict and the girl is afraid of being rejected by her family.
Love and family
Sarah’s love of children is very strong, but Aaron’s love of his children is less important than his love of religion. If we talk about real parental love, then of course this issue concerns Sarah. Despite the terrible action she does with her newborn grandson, Sarah remains a mother. Sarah abandons her grandson for Katie’s sake. Aaron has already rejected their son Jacob. However, what if Aaron finds out about Katie’s baby? Of course he will treat Katie, as well as he treated his son. Sarah does not want her daughter to be left alone. She loves Katie and she does everything possible for the sake of this love.
Honesty and deception
Of course, this book is the worst example of justice; most likely, there are lies and fraud, and the main characters hide many secrets. Katie lies about her pregnancy, so as not to be rejected by the church and religion. Sarah hides the fact that she knew about Katie’s pregnancy, because she does not want to lose her daughter. After the trial, Ellie does not dare to tell the whole truth about the real reason of the baby’s death for the sake of honor. There is so much deception here, but honesty would not have saved these women. Katie cares for her family, Sarah cares for her daughter and Ellie holds her reputation dear.
