Throughout the centuries the issue of freedom continued to be of great interest to writers and poets. Freedom is one of the main subjects of the novel “Hawk” by William Wallis. In this novel, the hawk is a symbol of freedom, and the boy, the main character, Will Falke, who is watching the flight of the hawk is watching what this freedom is like and what it is like to feel no pressure and to be independent. One of the other important problems raised in this novel is the meaning of childhood for every person. Childhood influences greatly on the formation of personality and affects the further life of any child. If in this period the child had any excess restrictions or problems this will without any doubt result in problems and restrictions he or she will be facing throughout his or her life. All these issues are represented in the novel “Hawk”. It cannot be stated that the childhood of the protagonist of the novel was not happy or his parents did not bring him up in the proper way. Still, there were some moments that should be given a little discussion. The writer does not point at them directly but when giving some events in the novel a little thinking it becomes clear what the writer wanted to express.
What should be mentioned above all is that Will, the central character of the novel, lives constantly under the care of the people who surround him. His mother, his father, and even his Nurse are teaching him something all the time and trying to make him like poetry, classical music, and things of this kind. The most important for a child at this age is to be able to choose what he likes and what he dislikes. If the child is constantly forced to do something, for example, learn poems by heart or play the piano, this can result in an aversion to this music, poetry, or things of this kind in the future. The novel “Hawk” is to some extent a story about childhood, about a wonderful period when a little person has a right to make a mistake because he or she still has time to fix everything. It seems that Will Falke’s parents paid too much attention to him and to teaching him the things he did not need at the age he was in and the hawk, soaring freely in the sky is the liberation from this forcing to do something he never wanted to.
Another important problem raised in the novel is the problem of health in the family. Only people who are dependent on their health understand its importance to the fullest extent. Health affects the life of any person greatly and the life of the family this person belongs to as well. Will’s mother was very sick and needed an operation. Nobody will argue that when the mother who is the heart of the family and who is the one who should take care of those who are ill is sick herself this may lead to the crash of the family in general as there is nobody to keep the family united. Will’s family was not falling apart but still, the mother’s illness influenced it greatly.
In conclusion, the problems presented in the novel greatly affected the life of the central character. Though there was no evident violence applied to the child, apart from other life difficulties, the way the members of the family treated Will affected the formation of his character and is sure to change his further life.