Fate

Since "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" is an American retelling of "Hamlet," the idea of fate can be clearly seen in the novel if sought. Hamlet, determined to flee Denmark, nevertheless returns to the kingdom to confront his murderous uncle, as if his path was ever uncertain: injustice must be righted. So too in the "Story of Edgar Sawtelle" does Edgar leave his home (the family farm) and return there later in order to confront his murderous Uncle Claude in order to right an injustice.

Two instances early in the novel provide evidence for a fatal journey. First is the presentation of Claude in Pusan, South Korea, during the Korean War, where he purchases a lethal poison. The second instance of fate occurs when the Sawtelle family land is mentioned as being somehow not quite right that there is something indefinably wrong with it. The land, the friction...