Major Themes in Before I Go to Sleep Novel - A Literary Essay

Introduction

Before I go to sleep is a compelling novel that explores the life of Christine, who suffers from amnesia. She wakes up each day with all her memory having been erased. She has a husband by the name Ben, who he thinks is a stranger every day she wakes up because she can barely recognize him. Ben was always patient with Christine and explained to her that she had an accident that was the reason why she was injured. Ben often displayed photographs of himself and Christine in the bathroom so that when Christine wakes in a panic, she will begin to attune to the world where she remembers nothing. Christine Lucas in Before I Go to Sleep sees a doctor behind Ben's back, who secretly inspires her to keep a journal, which she should never show her husband. The journal enables Christine to remember things about her life and the people in it. She finally ends up finding out who she was before pretentious Ben injured her. She realizes that she had been living with the same man that had injured her several years ago and had lost her memory due to the injury.

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Themes of Before I Go to Sleep

Christine Lucas’ Identity Crisis in Before I Go to Sleep

Watson seeks to unveil some of the major thematic concerns. One major theme explored by the book includes identity crisis. The main character of Before I Go to Sleep, Christine Lucas, is an amnesiac and struggles with her identity. Most of the time, Christine cannot understand how she, a young woman in her twenties, would sometimes be an old wrinkled woman in her forties. Her lack of identity drives her to trust a few people because she cannot understand herself. She yearns to be a self-sufficient woman, who did not need to rely on her husband to tell her everything about her past.

Before I Go to Sleep Theme of Betrayal

Another major theme is betrayal. First, her friend Claire had been having an affair with her real husband, Ben. Clair had never made efforts to visit Christine in years, and when they covertly reconnected, she realizes that Clair has been speaking to Ben, her real husband. Ben, the real husband to Christine, also betrayed Christine by abandoning her at the facility after she lost her memory. He stopped visiting her after a while. His act of abandoning her made the imposter Ben take advantage of the situation and take Christine out of the medical facility with a few fake papers.

Before I Go to Sleep Book Analysis: Theme of Humanity

The theme of humanity has also been dealt with. The author portrays Ben as an imposter and a pretender, who is capable of anything. His acts of being inhuman can be traced all over the book.From lying about Christines accident to torturing her years had established a complete life for him and Christine and fed her with stories which he intended them to look beautiful and perfect before Christine. There also physically and sexually abuse from Mike to Christine in Before I Go to Sleep because after all, she wouldnt remember a thing the next day. Meanwhile, innocent Christine is completely unaware that the man she lives with is the very same man who she had once had an affair with. She does not know that he beat her almost to death, using a bottle of champagne because she did not want to take the relationship a step further. Dr. Nash has been depicted as one with a gentle character. He is Christine's therapist and encourages her to keep a journal of her encounters each day. He sticks to Christine all the way and is the first person Christine wakes up in hospital after being injured for the second time by Ben.

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson: Theme of Hope

Christine, the protagonist, has majorly explored the theme of hope. Christine is determined to know what happened to her. Her husband has explained to her about what happened to her, but she feels that something is missing. She does not get tired of writing journals every day, even though it would have been considered monotonous.it is her determination that triggers the occurrence of events which later reveal the true story.

Before I Go to Sleep Novel: Theme of Reconciliation

The theme of reconciliation is seen as real husband to Christine, reconciles with her, despite everything that had happened between them. Although Christine had earlier on had an affair while married to her real husband, he forgave her and forgot about their past. Christine is finally reunited with her family. Her son Adam who had been away in London came to visit her. She realizes that the imposter had lied that her son had died due to meningitis a few years back. She also reconciles with her friend Clair, who had been a longtime friend, through Doctor Nash, her neurologist. Her reconciliation with Claire unraveled the fact that the man she was living with was not her husband.

Conclusion

The book is an inspirational book. The major themes explored are a representation of what most humans go through in their daily experiences. The experiences are meant to strengthen and educate us whenever we go through challenges in life.