Authors often write of those who abuse their power in society for their own personal gain. In Gathering Blue, the author, Lois Lowry argues that people will abuse their power and take control over others. Lowry uses Kira, Thomas, and Jo to prove her argument. The author uses Kira’s character to argue the thesis that people with power will abuse it and make other people suffer as a result. Kira is being forced to leave her cottage because the death of her mother and the lack of a living parent to keep the cottage. Lowry writes “In one astounding burst of creativity, her ability had gone far beyond her mother's teaching... She did not understand how the knowledge had come to her. But it was there, in her fingertips, and now they trembled slightly with eagerness to start. If only she was …show more content…
The author uses Kira to prove her argument that others will use their power for personal gain. In addition to Kira, Lowry uses the character Thomas, another victim who has been forced to live at Council Edifice to carve. The author writes of Thomas reading aloud and Kira refraining from learning the word herself. The author writes: “When he read the word hollyhock aloud with his finger on the word, she saw that it was long, with many lines like tall stems. She turned her eyes away quickly so that she would not learn it, would not be guilty of something clearly forbidden to her. But it made her smile, to see it, to see how the pen-formed the shapes and the shapes told a story of a name.” (Lowry, 63). Kira, who is female, is not permitted to learn, while Thomas, being male is allowed to read and educate themselves. This allows the council to use the women’s lack of education to their advantage. The author uses Thomas to prove her argument that when one has power over others, they will abuse their power for personal