Robbery Under Arms · Question
How does Robbery Under Arms develop the theme of Fate and Free Will?
Answer
Robbery Under Arms by Rolf Boldrewood develops Fate and Free Will across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
Dick Marston reflects on his choices and the inevitability of his downfall, suggesting a tension between personal responsibility and the deterministic pull of family legacy and circumstance.
Dick's encounter with the nighthawk and his sense of an ominous turning point underscore themes of fate and personal choice.
Starlight warns the boys that the outlaw path leads inevitably to prison or death, yet they are drawn in by circumstance and choice.
Dick questions whether the Marstons are doomed to a life of crime, as M'Intyre suggests, or if they can choose a different path.
Evidence in the book
- III
Dick's encounter with the nighthawk and his sense of an ominous turning point underscore themes of fate and personal choice.
- VI
Starlight warns the boys that the outlaw path leads inevitably to prison or death, yet they are drawn in by circumstance and choice.
- VIII
Dick questions whether the Marstons are doomed to a life of crime, as M'Intyre suggests, or if they can choose a different path.
- The Toss of a Coin
The coin toss that decides the brothers' course of action underscores the theme of fate, with the narrator reflecting on the deadly consequences of that choice.
- XIII
The brothers are forced to abandon their dreams of settling down, illustrating how their criminal past dictates their future.
- XV
Jim and Dick reflect on the uncertainty of their futures, feeling trapped by their choices yet aware of possible redemption.
- XVI
Dick reflects on the inevitability of his downfall, while the family debates whether to flee or stay, weighing fate against their choices.
- XIX
Dick reflects on the choices that led to his imprisonment and the gamble of the escape, questioning whether men learn from experience.
