Everyone Brave Is Forgiven By Cleave Character Analysis

Next, in Everyone Brave is Forgiven, Cleave reveals how war can change a person’s perspective through Mary and Alistair’s experiences when faced with the reality of humanity and society. Mary’s family is of a high social ranking, and she is constantly influenced by society’s opinions. However, she is forced to reflect on her values, and her justification of who she is, after she becomes a teacher to disabled and undesirable students. Throughout the novel, Mary is controlled by her reputation and image, and is therefore impacted by society’s ideals. Yet, when she begins to teach Zachary, a child of African descent, she realizes how wrong these ideals are. Perspective altered, she quickly recognizes that “negroes are no viler than we...in faculty,

Additionally, Alistair’s experiences highlight the impact war has on a person’s perspective. He is forced to change his view on life as he is exposed to the war’s brutality, as he is forced to reflect on his actions, and on humanity’s darkness. For instance, after fighting in the battlefields, Alistair returns to London but has a difficult time reintroducing himself to society. He is plagued by visions of war, and even when he tries to simply speak to another person, he sees “her skin [take] on the uneasy suggestion of bubbling and scorching and her hand...[seems] to be splintered bones,” (Cleave 139). Alistair’s hallucinations reveal the war’s emotional and mental impact, and he is constantly enveloped in paranoia and fear. He is frustrated with how people in London seem so unaware of the looming threat of an attack, and realizes the life he once had was very closed off from humanity’s harshest aspects. Alistair is ultimately forced to reflect on his values, as he is no longer someone with a carefree attitude towards life, but must instead come to terms with how difficult life can