Essay Questions

What proves that Amelia truly loves Captain William Booth?

Amelia does three unique things to prove that she truly loves Booth. Firstly, she marries Booth despite her mother’s opposition to their union. She defies her mother’s instructions and goes ahead to marry Booth. Secondly, when Booth is wrongly arrested, he becomes unfaithful and starts seeing Ms. Mathews. Despite knowing all these, Amelia remains faithful to Booth even if many men are after her. Thirdly, after Booth is released from jail, he accumulates a lot of gambling debt but Amelia bails him out using her inheritance.

Is Captain William Booth a responsible husband?

Booth is irresponsible because he acts without considering the possible consequences. When he is first arrested, he starts an affair with another woman without thinking about how Amelia will react when she knows. When he comes out of prison, he starts gambling something which plunges him into a big debt. He has no idea how he is going to get out of debt. He ends up poor after exploiting all the family resources on obsessive betting. Consequently, Booth is a reckless man but he has a good wife who overlooks his irresponsibleness.

How does culpability emerge as one of the main themes in the book Amelia?

Booth is the main victim of culpability. He is remorseful of all the things he has done and especially disrespecting his faithful wife. It is reckless for Booth to get tempted and start having an affair with another woman when he knows that he is a married man. He also engages in irresponsible gambling that bankrupts his family. The reader can postulate that Booth is taking advantage of his faithful and loving wife for his irresponsibleness. Towards the end of the narration, it is precise that Booth is regretful and he is feeling guilty for all the tribulations he has put Amelia through.