Hope/Hopelessness and Promises

One of the prevailing themes in “The Infinite Sea” is that of hope and its counterpart, hopelessness, as well as promises. The status of the world in which the novel is set influences the importance of these concepts as the alien invasion has filled many characters with a sense of hopelessness, though several characters attempt to counteract these negative feelings by being hopeful for the future. The role of promise is closely related to this theme of hope as characters value promises greatly as a source of hope.

The importance of promises is first introduced in Chapter 1 when Ringer refuses to kiss Zombie before her departure because that is a type of promise. Despite Vosch’s attempts to fill Zombie with hate, Zombie gains hope for the future; however, Cassie believes that Vosch wanted to teach Zombie the hopelessness of hope, hence deterring...