The Wonder by Emma Donoghue is a psychological thriller novel set in the late 1800s and originally published in 2016. The novel details a story of an alleged mysterious Irish girl called Anna O’Donnell. Some residents believe that Anna is sacred and should be made a saint according to the Catholic system. As a result, an English young physician called Lib Wright is sent to Ireland to investigate Anna. Following Anna O’Donnell’s claims of surviving without eating food, people are divided along skepticism and beliefs. While some people like Lib Wright are skeptical, others like local villagers believe that is a true religious miracle. Although it turns out that the whole incident is a hoax, many people still believe it’s a phenomenon. Scientifically, Lib understands that human beings cannot survive without eating. However, some people may put their beliefs on the divine and argue that the situation occurs due to religious miracles.
Anna’s parents are committing fraud by alleging that their daughter survives without eating in order to get donations from well-wishers. The level of deception is so high and some people are doubtful of the claims. Anna’s parents keep on deceiving the public that their daughter is mysterious. However, her mother feeds her secretly. The family’s actions amount to fraud. Lib Wright has been hired twelve years after the Irish famine to examine Anna O’Donnell, who is alleged to have not been eating for some months. Irish famine, which ended in 1847 corresponds to the hunger experienced by Anna metaphorically. The author uses allegories to compare the two situations that happen twelve years apart. Anna is almost killed by hunger when Lib decides to help her.
The residents in this small village in the heart of Ireland are gullible to believe that Anna has survived for months without eating food. Instead of using logic, the townspeople want Anna to be named a saint. However, Lib Wright uses her logic and believes that the whole situation is just a hoax. Lib wonders how a human being can survive that long without food. Lib Wright is so courageous enough to whisk away Anna from dying of hunger. It takes a lot of courage for her to plot a scheme on how to rescue the young girl. Lib realizes that unless she takes action, Anna would die on her watch. Therefore, she rescues Anna and lies to the parents that their daughter has been consumed by an accidental inferno.
