Death

Within the novel, the theme of death and punishment begins at the outset of Kyoshi’s struggle with Yun – she knows that she must kill him to save the rest of the world, but she shies away from this morbid responsibility. From the moment that Kyoshi was born into the Avatar cycle, her destiny was already set. Within the typical century life span of the Avatar, it is inevitable that he or she will face some mortal enemy or threat to the rest of the world. The novel never shied away from the morbid nature of Kyoshi’s quest. She is scared despite being all too familiar with the consequences of inaction that she has internalized through her past lives. Her personal narrative runs alongside the flow of the novel as she must grow comfortable with both the idea of death and the possibility of taking...