Theme 1: The first theme that I began to notice while reading the story would be that teenage life is very difficult and it is very hard to overcome the challenges that you are faced with. Throughout the story, many of the characters deal with the pressures of a typical high school and deal with the typical drama scenarios. The book was mostly split up into two categories of people , one was the wealthy and the other was the nobodies. If you didn't have the new designer clothes you were given a hard time and bullied for the clothes you wore. For example when Melinda saw Janie in her bra , she responded " Ew gross , where'd you get that old grungy thing , salvation army?" (page 12) Immediately Janie was put to shame and put her head down due to the hurtful words that are always used in the teenage world. In the entire book , Janie is put down from time to time about what she is wearing and the wealthier girls judging her the first glance they take of her. Also Janie finally makes her first actual friend Carrie but she is still picked on for not having that many friends. Janie also doesn't have a good home life with her mom being passed out all the time. Janie is constantly reaching out for some support from her mother since her father left her when she was very young. When Janie would " sit next to her mother hoping she would notice. Hoping she'll say something. But Janie's mother is asleep now."(Page 7). She was basically put on her own since the day she was born. She struggles through a very hard relationship with Cabel also and she only has one single friend to help her which is sometimes out partying while Janie is left all alone to sulk. Not only was Janie faced with a full time job and being physically exhausted she was mentally exhausted from all the lights she had with Cabel. Janie had came back from work and " is numb but not from anyone's dream. Not this time. She thinks about Cabel, cries silently in her pillow in the dark room."(page 81) Throughout the book , she ends up being the strong girl everyone knew and made it through every difficult step of the way.
Theme 2: The second theme that I chose out of the book would be that it is very hard to accept yourself and the gifts that you are blessed with. This theme also revolves around Janie because throughout the entire book she has a constant struggle of accepting of who she is and being happy with herself. Through high school you face a constant struggle of being pressured to go with the crowd and follow everyone else. In this book Janie finds herself and realizes that she is not an ordinary girl due to her special powers. It takes her time to accept that her gift is a blessing not a curse. Janie is faced with the challenge of setting her own standards of normality in society. In her dreams she was struck with sorrow because she could not help those who screamed for help. But throughout the book Miss Stubin helps her control those dreams and shows her that she shouldn't take her power for granted. In one of Miss Stubin's dreams , she teaches Janie of how to accept her gift. While Janie was dreaming " she was surprised that she's not compelled to follow the old man. She looks around and sees nothing but the meadow. Janie concentrates closes her eyes and pulls herself easily out of the dream."( page 139) From that moment on , Janie begins to realize she is really blessed to have such powers and she begins to accept her power. She begins to practice on many people, and slowly learns how to control in and out of strangers dreams. She also began to accept herself more once she shared it with someone else in her life. When she shared her secret with Cabel , it was like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. His reaction to her confessing was completely comfortable and he accepted her the exact way she way. After she spills her secret Cabel's reaction is real calm and reacts by making a clever joke. By Janie saying " and don't even tell me you'd believe a word of this if you hadn't come through it with me."(page 95) really showed how she began to open up with herself while confessing to Cabel. When Janie is able to help the chief officer in the investigation at the end of the book that's when it really hits her of how special she really is. When the captain approaches Janie after her confessing where the drugs were stashed in the dream she saw , "we got it said the captain. Janie smiles and then laughs like she won the lottery. Janie opens the envelope that she had received and inside was a contract , a scholoarship offer, and a paycheck offer. Captain looked at me and said read it over let me know if your interested, good work Janie."( page 209) This was the final stage of Janie realizing she can use her gift to help better the world , and that she was blessed with this gift for a reason.
Theme 2: The second theme that I chose out of the book would be that it is very hard to accept yourself and the gifts that you are blessed with. This theme also revolves around Janie because throughout the entire book she has a constant struggle of accepting of who she is and being happy with herself. Through high school you face a constant struggle of being pressured to go with the crowd and follow everyone else. In this book Janie finds herself and realizes that she is not an ordinary girl due to her special powers. It takes her time to accept that her gift is a blessing not a curse. Janie is faced with the challenge of setting her own standards of normality in society. In her dreams she was struck with sorrow because she could not help those who screamed for help. But throughout the book Miss Stubin helps her control those dreams and shows her that she shouldn't take her power for granted. In one of Miss Stubin's dreams , she teaches Janie of how to accept her gift. While Janie was dreaming " she was surprised that she's not compelled to follow the old man. She looks around and sees nothing but the meadow. Janie concentrates closes her eyes and pulls herself easily out of the dream."( page 139) From that moment on , Janie begins to realize she is really blessed to have such powers and she begins to accept her power. She begins to practice on many people, and slowly learns how to control in and out of strangers dreams. She also began to accept herself more once she shared it with someone else in her life. When she shared her secret with Cabel , it was like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. His reaction to her confessing was completely comfortable and he accepted her the exact way she way. After she spills her secret Cabel's reaction is real calm and reacts by making a clever joke. By Janie saying " and don't even tell me you'd believe a word of this if you hadn't come through it with me."(page 95) really showed how she began to open up with herself while confessing to Cabel. When Janie is able to help the chief officer in the investigation at the end of the book that's when it really hits her of how special she really is. When the captain approaches Janie after her confessing where the drugs were stashed in the dream she saw , "we got it said the captain. Janie smiles and then laughs like she won the lottery. Janie opens the envelope that she had received and inside was a contract , a scholoarship offer, and a paycheck offer. Captain looked at me and said read it over let me know if your interested, good work Janie."( page 209) This was the final stage of Janie realizing she can use her gift to help better the world , and that she was blessed with this gift for a reason.