Injustice in The Graveyard Book

The main theme in The Graveyard Book seems to be the fight with the evil and doing justice, or maybe undoing injustice that this evil causes. It often refers to the biblical rule “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” but seems to treat it more deeply. There is also a clear distinction between good and evil characters, and a theme of revenge. Bod, as a positive character, at the very beginning, is set in opposition to the black and mysterious figure of Jack. This perfectly built beginning, quite scary and wonderfully introducing the mood, develops into a very intriguing and absorbing plot. The main theme of injustice is based on the story of the crime – a murder of the family. The Jacks-of-all-trades and their Order have, at least in their view, good reasons to kill Bod’s family. Yet, not everything goes according to their plan and that is how the story develops. The Order does injustice when killing innocent people and we all wait for it being somehow undone, which would be a perfect example of poetic justice. Bod, as a good character, lives unaware of the injustice that was done to him in the past. Only when he learns about what happened, he is forced, rather than he wants it himself, to face the wrong-doers and fight with them. It seems that any act of his against the evil side is caused not as much by his desire to get a revenge as by the need to protect himself and those whom he cares for. Still, there is the motif of revenge present in the book as well. When Bod hears the story of Lizzy, her death and what happened soon after it, we are given the perfect example of the mentioned rule “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth”. Yet, in this case the revenge can be justified or, at least, understandable. I must admit I felt much better after reading the conclusion of her story. Still, Lizzy does not feel better because of it. It appears this can be only an act of goodness and care that can bring relief to her character. And this act - an act of justice - is done by Bod, who helps Lizzy regain her identity, makes her feel respected and remembered. Although the poetic justice, expressed in Lizzy’s revenge, makes us feel better as the unjust have been punished, the injustice cannot be undone by the same act of violence. Another example of unjust behaviour can be seen in the characters of Mo and Nick – school bullies. Again, Bod is the one who opposes the unjustice. Here, it is he who consciously punishes the couple and leads to the end of their violence. There is also the motif of revenge again, yet, as it would be again unjust to get it, the book does not let the vengeance take place. Instead, Mo is left with her negative emotions: “(…) and then she would concoct elaborate revenge schemes in her head, complex and vicious. They were the only thing that made her feel better, and even they didn’t really help.” (205). Again, we see that vengeance may make us feel better but it does not do any good to the world. I liked the book very much, together with its well-built characters and setting. Also the theme is intriguing and surprising, and the form makes it a kind of a mixture of a horror, crime story and fantasy. The motif of justice may not be drawing our attention but it is there and gives us great examples of the behaviour of a good character witnessing injustice. It is certainly worth reading, not only because of the theme I have just presented, but because of its great plot and really interesting characters.Read full review