One of the overarching themes of the novel, which is decision making, begins in the first phase where John and Tess make important decisions that end up changing the path of their future. Besides that, through the first stage, readers get a hint of Angel's character and are able to predict his future appearance in the rest of the novel. The last setting of the first phase is also the beginning of Tess's downfall in the later phases and prepares readers to expect a turn of events. If the events and decisions made by Tess or any other character had been different at this stage, Tess would most likely have lived a different life. Therefore, without the important events that take place in the first phase, the rest of the novel would be missing an important piece like a