The Bad Beginning Themes

Courage. The Cowardly Lion wanted it, but in The Bad Beginning, the Baudelaires actually have it. Throughout their story, these little children display amazing bravery and strength in the face of s...

Being smart is one of the best kinds of talents. As Violet, Klaus, and Sunny find out in The Bad Beginning, it also comes in great use when you're living with an awful madman. The three Baudelaires...

In The Bad Beginning, Count Olaf is one of the most dreadful villains to ever grace the page. He doesn't have one single redeeming quality, and everything about him—his house, his appearance, and...

Greed, contrary to what some people might say, is not good—and it's especially not good when you're faced with a selfish, bad-tempered villain. In The Bad Beginning, Count Olaf will stop at nothi...

One of the most fun things about The Bad Beginning is the way the author uses language. He'll often drop in a fun little aside about the meaning of a word to let the reader know exactly what a cert...

Law and order is a good thing, and not just on our television screens. That said, we're sure you'll forgive the Baudelaires if they don't end up appreciating the finer points of the law by the time...

We're sorry to tell you, but the theme in The Bad Beginning that you're about to read about is a total bummer. It will make you think of all sorts of miserable things that you would be much happier...

Nearly all the problems the Baudelaires encounter in The Bad Beginning happen because they are children. They can't inherit their fortune until Violet is old enough; they can't choose whom they wou...