The Theme of Family
The family emerges as one of the key themes in The Cabin at the End of the World. The novel introduces a gay couple, Andrew and Eric, with their adopted seven-year-old adoptive daughter, Wen. Andrew and Eric love their daughter and look forward to giving her the best in life. The family faces the biggest challenge while on vacation in New Hampshire. Four strangers approach the family and tell them to sacrifice one of their own to prevent an apocalypse and the death of eight billion people from happening. Andrew and Eric are not ready to sacrifice their daughter, and neither of them is ready to die. Tremblay shows how the family stands together to oppose the views of the four strangers who continue to urge them to offer one of them as a human sacrifice. According to Andrew and Eric, the apocalypse would kill the entire family rather than sacrifice any family member, though they are told if they are to not sacrifice anyone, then they would remain alone in the world, alive just the three of them.
The Theme of Death
Death is a dominant theme throughout the text. When the four strangers visit the cabin where Wen and her parents live, they argue that one family member must die to save the world. According to the four strangers (Leonard, Raymond, Sabrina, and Adriane), they had visions that directed them into the cabin where one family member must die to stop the apocalypse from happening. When Andrew says that none of his family members will be offered as a sacrifice, the strangers cover Raymond’s face with a cloth and suffocate him to death. After Raymond’s death, the intruders plot to sacrifice Andrew. However, Andrew quickly rushes to his car and retrieves a gun that he uses to kill Adriane. During the fight, Wen is shot accidentally and dies instantly.
Leonard reminds the couple that the death of Wen cannot stop the apocalypse because she did not die willingly. As a result, Leonard offers himself the sacrifice and asks Andrew and Eric to tie him and kill him, though this is not enough to stop the apocalypse. Consequently, death is a major point of focus in the novel because the characters are dying and killing in an attempt to stop the apocalypse from happening.
The Theme of Homosexuality
The book offers many looks into homosexuality and homophobia. From the start, readers get to see the dynamic between a family with two fathers. This leads to initially questioning the visitors and their prophecy as a potential homophobic attack against the men. The readers see another look into a homophobic attack when they learn that Redmond originally attacked Andrew in a bar years ago for hitting on him.
