The book Age of Wonders is an excellent example in portraying the crisis of not only the
European civilization but also racism which still very abundant in today's society. The author is
trying to send a strong message that racism is indeed wrong, and only through education will
people know that. Using his own experiences with racism he decided to bring the reader back
into time to about World War II. There he shows the misconceptions placed upon different
ethinic groups, and at a time were racism was so strong that it could be the reason to kill an
The story Age of Wonders is seen through the eyes of a small boy named Bruno. He was
the only child in the family until later on they adopted a little girl whom they named Helga. The
mother had tried to do her best to raise her children, she did a lot of work around the house and
tutored her children with their schoolwork. It was not homework that the mother often helped
her children in but also many lessons in life. The father was hardly around to see the children due
to his devotion to writing and constant troubles with the law, "I'll sue each and one of those
damn journalists!" pg.. 153. The mother in turn sacrificed her time to make sure her children
would be set straight. She taught them how to conduct themselves properly, and taught them
how to take care of themselves knowing someday she would not be around. Perhaps the most
important lesson though was that of treating others equally. She constantly reminded them that
one should not judge another by what they see on the outside but instead by their content of their
character. "Judge not by the appearance of a an individual, instead look at how they are" pg.. 54.
Bruno was still a small child, about ten years old and he was just beginning to understand the
concept of racism. He recalls that he often faced a lot of racism up close, get...