David Paul Emma David Paul Emma

themes to respond to in brothers’ war

It all begins with an idea.

The view from the north wall of Enna, Sicily, featuring the town of Calascibetta. When Nathan lived in Enna during Brothers’ War, Calascibetta was an uninhabited promontory abutting the latifundium where slaves were forced to raise wheat for Rome’s expanding empire. Photo by P. Maximilian Emma.

HOW DOES YOUR LIFE RELATE TO THE NOVEL? write a response BASED ON ONE OF THE PROMPTS BELOW.

  1. Loss

  2. Indecision

  3. Unforeseen consequences

  4. Friendship/Male camaraderie

  5. Doing what must be done at the moment

  6. Reality vs. What could be

  7. Intercultural exchange

  8. “Time and chance happen to us all” (Ecclesiastes)

  9. Facing Mediocrity or Obscurity

  10. THE ROLE WE PLAY IN OUR FAMILY, CIRCLE OF FRIENDS, AND THE WIDER WORLD

  11. THE AFFECTS OF POLITICS ON FAMILY DYNAMICS

  12. Intellectualizing/philosophizing with friends

  13. ALWAYS Being second best

  14. Good coming from bad

  15. The problem of NarratoLOGY

  16. having to move EVERY FEW YEARS

  17. Trials bringing the best and worst ouT YOU

  18. The spiritual vs. the material

  19. Efstathios’s internal conflict

  20. A LOVE THAT CAN NEVER BE

  21. someone who is the bane of your existence

  22. SOMEONe WHO is an INSPIRATION

  23. How Brothers’ War picks up where Acts leFT off

  24. Who won the brothers’ war, Nathan or Amram?

  25. What aspects of the story DID you connect with the most?

  26. Would you have wanted to live during Nathan’s time period? WHY OR WHY NOT?

  27. Can we right the world’s ills?

  28. Why do people write stories?

  29. Is there a theme not listed above that you would like to comment on?

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