Hannah Cesal

3rd hour
February 11th 2014
Literary Essay

Your life is full of obstacles and sometimes it feels like the whole world
is against you, but somehow and some way, youre determined to not only
survive but to conquer all that gets in your way. This was the case for old
man Charley when he takes on a garden after his devastating past. The
neighborhood boys are also determined to get revenge on Charley because
he chased them off of his yard they dominated as their own. In the end the
fierce battle between the boys and Charley, concluded in not only sadness,
but the fatal death of the prized possession that was Charleys garden. The
theme of Charleys Garden by Martin Walsh is when you come to the end of
the rope, tie a knot and hold on due to the fact that he goes through a
depressing life experience, he keeps moving forward and he excels while
doing so. Even though some might say that the theme is something as
knowledge, this is not true because knowledge is only expressed in the last
couple paragraphs whereas the theme of perseverance is expressed fully
throughout the text.
Emphasizing perseverance was that Charley had depressing life
experiences. For example (2) when Charley had been forced to live in a Nazi
concentration camp. This evidence insists that he was forced to live in a
horrid place which is important due to the abuse and death that demonstrate
this is indeed one of the many acts of perseverance displayed with Charley
and his actions.

Hannah Cesal
3rd hour
February 11th 2014
Literary Essay

Another reason for the theme of perseverance was when Charley kept
moving forward with life demonstrating a great amount of perseverance. This
was made obvious when the boy observes Charleys struggle to survive (2).
This example suggests that charley had to stay strong in order to live which
is crucial because he had to move forward and not just become depressed
displaying the definition of persevering.
The last, but still viable reason that the theme of Charleys Garden is
perseverance is that he excels while doing so. This is stated on page (2)
when Walsh says before long, it would be as beautiful as before. And when
the garden he loved was destroyed by the misunderstanding neighborhood
boys. These examples show that his garden was sadly destroyed yet he
would make it bloom again which is relevant to the theme of perseverance
because he is taken whats destroyed and making it not only good but going
above and beyond showing perseverance in more ways than one.
Some might say that the theme of this story is knowledge but this is
poorly mistaken. For example this is only shown within the end part of
Charleys Garden when on the other hand perseverance is expressed fully
through the Walshs story. This makes it false because the theme must be
expressed throughout the story in order to be the theme. This excludes
knowledge because it is only in the last paragraphs whereas perseverance is
in the whole story.

Hannah Cesal
3rd hour
February 11th 2014
Literary Essay

In conclusion, the fact that someone can move through some of the
most crippling obstacles while they conquer shows that when you come to
what looks like the end you cant just stop. This means Walsh is not just
saying that Charley is a superhuman but others can do it too no matter how
big the road block is. This could not only show a humans powers but be
inspirational to those who find nothing to hold on. This proves that the theme
of Charleys Garden is without doubt, when you come to the end of the rope,
tie a knot and hold on.