Question

What is the theme of the story ""The Wretched and the Beautiful""? by E. Lily Yu

Answer 1

Answer:

Empathy

Explanation:

The story, "The Wretched and the Beautiful", by E. Lily Yu, tells the story of an alien ship carrying refugees of war from the extraterrestrial space to a beach resort where humans went to for relaxation. The aliens in the ship were ugly, hungry, and sick looking having suffered the effects of war. Humans in the beach were not happy to see them as they felt that they were a burden and should be helped by the government. They found it difficult sympathizing with them. However, when a different set of aliens who looked better, came to capture the former aliens, humans were more receptive to them.

The theme of a story is the underlying message a story is trying to pass. The writer highlighted the difficulty humans had in sympathizing with and showing empathy to the condition of victims of unfavorable circumstances. Humans deferred this responsibility to others rather than taking  it on themselves. In the end those who showed a lack of empathy were rewarded for not being kind.