The Blue Bead: Setting and Themes
Setting
Like many of Norah Burke's stories, The Blue Bead is set in a village in India. The main events of the story take place near a ford, that is, a shallow section of a river, which is surrounded by cliffs and a forest. The jungle setting of the story makes Sibia's heroism stand out even more.
Key Themes
Courage and selflessness
The main theme of the story is courage and selflessness in the face of danger. Sibia displayed immense courage when she rushed forward to help the Gujar woman. The woman herself panicked and started screaming as the crocodile grabbed her. But Sibia did not pause even for a moment to think about her own safety. Sibia's actions show the reader that even children can be heroic and braver than adults.
Fight for survival
Another theme of the story is living beings' fight for survival. Right at the beginning, we learn how the crocodile kept itself safe from predatory birds and carnivorous fish when it was young. The crocodile's attack on the woman was also for the sake of survival.
Similarly, the women in Sibia's village toiled hard daily cutting paper grass that grew on cliffs. They constantly lived in danger of being attacked by crocodiles and yet continued their routine of crossing the river.
Poverty
Poverty is also a theme of the story. Sibia's basic needs were barely fulfilled. She lived in a mud hut, had one set of clothes and barely got enough to eat. So much so, she had to break her chapati into multiple pieces to create the feeling of having enough food. Her family could also not afford to buy a needle that Sibia could use for drilling hol beads.
Given this background, Sibia's intense happiness on finding a bead is understandable.
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