Perspective

Throughout the narrative, William's pursuit of his dreams and goals is supported and enabled by his friends. That support is both consistent and virtually unconditional in the chief's son Gilbert and William's cousin Geoffrey, somewhat less consistent and slightly less conditional in another of William's cousins, Charity whose name, as noted in "Important People," is occasionally somewhat ironic. In fact, on several occasions, William's forward movement towards realizing his dream of building a windmill continues ONLY as a result of the helpful intervention of his friends. This tying the support of friends (and, incidentally, of family) so clearly and so thoroughly to the book's thematic consideration of / emphasis on the value of dreams creates a clear sense of authorial contention that in general, dreams cannot be realized alone - that dreams are built by community, even if that community consists of only two or three individuals. The corollary...