FRQ3

In the novel Everybody Knows Your Mother is a Witch, Rivka Galchen employs the use of symbols through character’s actions in order to convey how one event can spiral into something much larger, ultimately illustrating the huge effect one’s actions can have on another’s life. 

To begin, the main character of this story, Katharina Kepler, is accused of being a witch by a neighbor. Katharina is known for producing herbal remedies and for her successful son who is a scientist. Being that this book takes place during the time of the Black Plague (1600’s), herbal remedies were a new advancement. After giving one of these remedies to a neighbor, said neighbor got sick. Because of this, the neighbor concluded that Katharina was a witch and the remedy was merely to poison her. The symbol here is the accusation made by her neighbor. This symbol reveals both the strengths of Katharina and her son, Johannes, and the weaknesses/insecurities of the townspeople. Rumors typically stem from the insecurities of the antagonist. In this case the antagonist, Ursula, wanted the attention off of her (after doing something many did not like) and onto Katharina. However, this rumor and Katharina’s and her son’s strength through it all highlights their resilience and determination. 

To continue, this symbolizes how rumors can spread like wildfire and can in turn become something much more than a simple rumor. For instance, in this story the rumor of Katharina being a witch started out as something to divide people's attention, however it quickly became a court case which could’ve quickly resulted in a beheading, hanging, or burning at the stake because that is how witches were punished back then. Luckily, Johannes was able to prove his mother’s innocence and she was able to live. But the fact that a simple, brainless rumor could’ve resulted in someone’s death symbolizes that people will believe just about anything they hear. 

Additionally, as a whole, this symbol reveals more about the theme of the novel. In a few words, this novel could be defined as a display of gullibility. Also, it can even be related to the present. For example, in politics especially people will believe whatever they hear from their favorite news source. If a republican hears that a democrat did something on Fox News, they’re extremely likely to automatically believe it and vice versa due to bias and gullibility. In this story, the reason why everyone believes Ursula is because there were already suspicions surrounding witches, which further came into play a few decades later with the Salem Witch Trials. This symbol/idea helps display the broader idea that people will believe just about anything they hear, despite having a lack of information and facts. 

In conclusion, by using the overarching symbol of rumors, Rivka galchen successfully conveys to readers that these can ruin someone’s life or cause them major distress. Along with this, she also illustrates how this distress can change someone and even give them more strength in the end.