Scapegoating

Throughout the novel, Crace points to the theme of scapegoating as a contagious and dangerous practice. Brooker Higgs' choice to pin the blame for the fire in Master Kent's dovecote on the newcomers sets off an unstoppable chain of misfortunes in the village. Because a scapegoat is usually convicted in the court of public opinion, without evidence, it is public consensus that validates that conviction. The need for consensus in an insular village like the one in Crace's novel drives the public to join in the prosecution of a scapegoat, even if not everyone is sure the theory of that prosecution is sound. Even Master Kent, who is in charge of the community, is not immune to this need -- he is the one who authorizes the questioning of the newcomers in the woods and subsequently punishes them.

However, because scapegoating is itself an injustice, people...