What is the theme of the water is wide

Question

What is the theme of the water is wide

Answer 1

Among Conroy's more important themes in this novel are racism and the accompanying prejudice, religion, education, family, isolation, and maturation. Conroy the character, usually called Pat, embarks upon a two-fold quest. The first is that of achieving his own destiny, one about which he has most definite ideas. The second is the liberation of the black island children, and by extension, of their families, from the white-instituted illiteracy which binds them to their past as surely as the chains of slavery did their forefathers.