Bronze Bow Themes and Symbols

Discover the themes, symbols, and literary elements in Elizabeth Speare's classic novel, The Bronze Bow

Symbolism in The Bronze Bow

The most obvious symbol is in the title: A bronze bow

At first Daniel suspects the bow stands for strength and the ability to win a battle.

But he and his friends discover it stands for love, only love can bend a bow of bronze.

Themes

The primary theme of this story is kingdom.

More specifically, the kingdom of God is built on love. This ties into the symbolism of the bronze bow mentioned above.

In our unit study, we give students guidance in how they could identify this as the main theme. The clues include:

• It was the conclusion of his conversation with Jesus.
• The kingdom was a central theme of Jesus' teaching.
• Daniel and Joel discussed scriptures about the kingdom earlier in the story.
• Rome (an empire - or kingdom) was another theme.
• One can find a hint to this theme in the last sentence of the first paragraph of the book.

Other Themes

Other themes that are related to kingdom include:

• Love vs hate
• Bitterness vs forgiveness
• Rome vs Palestine
• True Friendship

Character Development

This is one of the best stories for young readers to watch character development unfold. Activities in our 109 page unit study related to character development include:

• Assessing Daniel's motives: Is he selfish, altruistic, or both?
• Comparing Joel and Malthrace with Daniel and Leah
• Contrasting Rosh and Jesus
• Comparing the band of men on the mountain and the boys in the town
• Contrast Daniel and Nathan, Joel and Kemuel.
• What causes a change in Leah?
• Note the climactic change in Daniel at the end of the story

Climax and Denouement

The Bronze Bow presents a unique climax and denouement for young readers in that the climax occurs at the end with a quick and short denouement after it.

The climax occurs when Daniel decides to speak to Marcus rather than continue running to Jesus.

In the short denouement Daniel is surprised by the Romans relief at his sister's improvement; then the readers are surprised by Daniel's invitation for Marcus to come into his home. "Will you come into our house?" he asked.

It is a short denouement indeed, but it speaks volumes.

(It should be noted that the author craftily placed much of the work of the denouement into the paragraphs before the climax: Leah's recovery, Malthace's love. We don't confuse our budding novelists with this tidbit.)

Denouement and Character Development

Most readers are likely familiar with character development: a change in the character as a result of the action of the story. This tale gives us a chance to contrast the denouement as the external change in the character's situation and the character development as the internal change.

Out quiz lists these parts of the story for the students to match:

• Daniel at the beginning of the story is:
  • Isolated
  • Separated from family
  • Consumed by hate.
• At the end of the story Daniel has:
  • HA home in the village
  • True friends and a sister
  • A career
  • The chance to marry the girl he loves.
• Character Development: He gave up hate and learned to love.

Interconnected Elements

In the Action Plot Diagram above you will see two sets of three circles: these demonstrate the interconnectedness of the elements: themes, moral, and purpose are usually related. In this story particularly, they are closely linked. The smaller circles illustrate that themes, symbols, and motifs are inter-connected. We use the final quiz in our Bronze Bow Unit Study to emphasize how these elements are interconnected.

The elements to be matched are arranged categorically so readers can see they are related. To make it simpler for struggling students, the elements can be read orally and matched as a group project. (Instructions are provided to modify the final quiz to make it easier or harder, depending on students' academic ability and comfort with abstract reasoning.)

Decisions

Characters need to make decisions. The decisions reflect the person's character and also move the plot of a story along.

Throughout the chapters, there are decisions to be made. Some of the most important include:

• Chapter One - Should Daniel investigate the strangers on the mountain? Why or why not?
• Chapter Two - Should Joel take part in Rosh's attack?
• Three - Should Daniel visit his grandmother’s home?
• Chapter Four - Should Daniel return to the mountains or stay with his sister and grandmother?
• Chapter Five - Should Daniel and the Jewish people be patient like Hezron or get ready to fight like Rosh?
• Chapter Six - Should Joel and Malthrace have hidden Daniel? What risks did they take?
• Chapter Seven - Should Daniel leave the hidden passage without warning to his friends?
• Chapter Eight: Should Joel put the Law before all other things and people?
• Chapter Nine: Is it right to steal from the rich to give to the poor?
• Chapter Ten: Should Daniel stay and take care of Leah after his grandmother’s death?
• Chapter Eleven: Should Daniel accept Simon’s offer to work in the blacksmith shop?
• Chapter Twelve: Would YOU join Daniel's group?
• Chapter Seventeen: Was Leah right to dress up as Joel? Is deception a lie?

Print Our Bronze Bow Unit Study

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Pages on The Bronze Bow

A timeless tale of hate and love