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Themes are the big ideas that run through the entire novel. AQA expects you to track these themes across the text and connect them to context. This lesson covers three closely linked themes: justice, Empire, and colonialism.
Justice — and its limits — is the central theme of The Sign of Four. The novel asks: who has the right to judge? Who gets justice, and who does not?
| Stage of the novel | How justice is presented | Key moment |
|---|---|---|
| Opening (Ch. 1–2) | Mary Morstan seeks justice for her father's disappearance | She brings her case to Holmes |
| Investigation (Ch. 3–9) | Holmes pursues justice through rational deduction | Systematic analysis of clues |
| Climax (Ch. 10) | Justice is violent — Tonga is shot and killed | Thames chase; Tonga's death |
| Resolution (Ch. 11–12) | Small is captured, but the treasure is lost forever | Justice is partial — no one gets the treasure |
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