Essay Questions

How does evil emerge as one of the main themes in Offering to the Storm by Dolores Redondo?

The novel Offering to the Storm focuses on offerings made by people to an evil power for protection, prosperity, and superstitious eternity beliefs. Throughout the text, Amaia is seen busy looking for infants that have disappeared from the village because they are used for offerings. People in the village worship the evil power that demands human sacrifices to perform his rituals. The cases involving the loss of young children are on the rise. However, such cases are complex to execute because no one wants to talk openly about the sacrifices that are made in the village.

How does Amaia know that people in the village sacrifice their children for material gain?

Amaia remembers an incident when she was a young girl that reflects what is currently happening in the village. While Amaia was young, she recalls how her infant twin sister died in a mysterious circumstance, which she describes as a 'crib death.' Amaia believes that her parents sacrificed her sister for material gain because she could hear their conversations in murmurs, not knowing that she could hear them talk about the sacrifice. Many people in the village have resolved to this inhumane tactic of giving their children as offerings to gain wealth.

How does the author depict the senses of hearing and sight to readers?

The novel opens with the description of the intruder silently gazing at the sleeping child. The intruder is here on purpose, to snatch the baby and use her in the sacrifices offered to the evil man in the village. The description of the intruder, the physical appearance of the room, and murmurs depict hearing and sight senses. The author writes, "From the shelf, a collection of stuffed toys gazed at the sleeping child. The intruder could hear the murmur of the television in the adjacent room and the heavy breathing of the woman asleep on the sofa, lit by the screen’s cold light.”Consequently, the author engages readers to see the arrangement of toys in the room and the voices in the house.