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Chapter 16
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Bronze Bow, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Love vs. Vengeance
Trust, Dependence, and Friendship
Leadership: Power vs. Service
Earthly Hopes vs. Heavenly Values
Summary
Analysis
Daniel is mending an ax while some villagers complain of Rosh’s latest actions. They say Rosh’s men robbed five of the wealthiest houses in Capernaum last night while the owners were at Mattathias’s banquet for Herod. The men got greedy, they explain, and then tried to rob the centurion’s house as well. Daniel tries to defend Rosh, suggesting he takes from the rich in order to give to the poor. But he’s troubled. He’s never thought of Rosh as just a bandit, and this looting doesn’t seem worth the risk and effort Joel put in.
Rosh is beginning to stir up resentment among the people of Ketzah. His men opportunistically robbed Jewish citizens during Herod’s festivities. Daniel hangs onto his faith that Rosh has a greater purpose in mind. Deep down, though, such activity seems petty. It doesn’t fit his exalted image of Rosh as a leader.
Themes
The other boys in their group laud Joel as a hero, and Joel himself is excited to keep going with the work. The boys debate what Rosh will do with the money—maybe buy weapons, or pay back farmers whose livestock he’s taken. Daniel, uncomfortable, finally puts a stop to the discussion. Seeing the boys’ eager loyalty, he tries to ignore his own doubts.
Daniel begins to suspect that Rosh’s intentions aren’t as noble as he’s hoped. However, he’s not yet ready to entertain the idea that Rosh isn’t the person and leader Daniel has always believed he is.
Themes
Villagers, too, condemn Rosh more. Some still think he’s a defender of the Jews, while others feel he’s turned against them. Overall, though, Rosh’s reputation as a freedom fighter persists, and the boys grow more and more excited about contributing to his cause. They feel they’re finally doing something. They don’t even feel pity for their victims. They figure that anyone who does business with the Romans or shows off their wealth deserves what they get. Best of all, they love harassing Roman soldiers.
The boys give Rosh the benefit of the doubt. They classify their victims as Roman collaborators, instead of seeing them as human beings who might be harmed by the boys’ actions. Their mission is more important than anything else. Daniel used to feel this way, too.
Themes
Daniel feels disheartened. This wasn’t what he’d trained and longed for, and he fears the boys will exhaust their efforts before real revolution comes. When they overpower guards and successfully dismantle and steal a Roman catapult, Daniel starts to worry about the boys’ swaggering arrogance.
Daniel feels let down by Rosh. He thinks Rosh’s leadership is backfiring—the boys are wasting their time, and their petty successes are shaping their character for the worse.
Themes
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As the boys get more aggressive, and Roman reinforcements are sent to patrol the town, the atmosphere becomes more charged. One morning, men enter Daniel’s shop. They know he’s said to be in contact with Rosh, and they have a message for Rosh: they want his men to stop slaughtering the sheep of local farmers. They have had enough of what Rosh calls “freedom”—they’re the ones, after all, who bear the brunt of it. Days later, a local farmer’s crop is found plundered and destroyed.
Things reach a breaking point between the villagers and Rosh. Though they once looked up to Rosh as their champion, the villagers now believe he’s hurting their cause. In fact, he’s hurting them directly by stealing and damaging their property. Rosh is not above provoking and retaliating against his own people; his true character is coming out.
Themes
When Daniel goes to warn Rosh, Rosh just laughs. He says the villagers’ job is to raise food for fighting men. Daniel feels sickened by this. He’d pictured Rosh gathering up followers from the villages, but now nobody will follow him.
Rosh sees the villagers as existing for the benefit of the fighters. He’s not actually fighting for them in any sense, just using them for his own purposes.
Themes
