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Themes
Themes and Colors
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Single Shard, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
In A Single Shard, a person’s family consists of the people who take care of them—whether they are biological relatives or not. The novel’s protagonist, Tree-ear, is an adolescent orphan living in 12th-century Korea whose parents died of a severe fever when he was about two years old. Though a charitable monk paid a man to bring Tree-ear to his nearest relative, the monk was unable to locate him. Villagers living close to a nearby monastery suggested that the man give Tree-ear to a kindly, disabled homeless man named Crane-man until the monks at the monastery recovered from a dangerous fever. By the time the monks recovered, Crane-man had been tenderly caring for Tree-ear for months, and toddler Tree-ear simply refused to leave his new guardian. Thus, Crane-man’s care for Tree-ear turned him into Tree-ear’s new family.
Later, when Tree-ear is about 12 years old, he begins working for an elderly couple, the potter Min and Min’s wife, who lost their only son to fever. At first, Tree-ear works for them solely because he hopes that Min will teach him pottery and because Min’s wife feeds him. Yet due to the kindness that Min’s wife shows him, Tree-ear comes to care for her, doing extra chores to show his gratitude. When a royal emissary, Emissary Kim, asks Min to bring some of his pottery to the capitol, Songdo, for examination, Tree-ear volunteers to bring the pottery on Min’s behalf. In a reciprocal gesture, Min’s wife asks Tree-ear to call her “Ajima,” a Korean term of endearment that approximately translates to “Auntie” and that people use for their older female relatives. Tree-ear and “Ajima’s” mutual care for each other turns them into adopted family members. Finally, after Crane-man dies while Tree-ear is bringing Min’s pots to Songdo, Min agrees to teach Tree-ear how to throw pots even though the potters’ trade is usually passed from father to biological son, suggesting that Min, like his wife, wants to welcome Tree-ear into their family. Thus, after being orphaned at a young age, Tree-ear gets three successive parental figures—Crane-man, Min’s wife, and Min himself—by caring for them and being cared for by them. The novel thus offers a broad definition of family, highlighting how a one’s family can extend beyond one’s biological relatives. Ultimately, family isn’t necessarily about one’s blood ties—it’s about mutual care, love, and respect.
Related Themes from Other Texts
Compare and contrast themes from other texts to this theme…
Found Family ThemeTracker
The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Found Family appears in each chapter of A Single Shard. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
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Found Family Quotes in A Single Shard
Below you will find the important quotes in A Single Shard related to the theme of Found Family .
Chapter 1
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“Work gives a man dignity; stealing takes it away,” he often said.
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Following Crane-man’s advice was not always easy for Tree-ear. Today, for example. Was it stealing, to wait as Tree-ear had for more rice to fall before alerting the man that his rice bag was leaking? Did a good deed balance a bad one? Tree-ear often pondered these kinds of questions, alone or in discussion with Crane-man.
Chapter 3
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Tree-ear glanced up at her, and their eyes met. Hers were bright and soft, set in a small face netted with fine wrinkles. He dropped his gaze at once, not wishing to be considered impolite. Like Crane-man’s eyes, he thought, and wondered why.
Chapter 5
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“Our son, Hyung-gu, died of fever when he was about your age,” she said. “These clothes I made for him, but they were never worn.”
Chapter 6
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“If a man is keeping an idea to himself, and that idea is taken by stealth or trickery—I say it is stealing. But once a man has revealed his idea to others, it is no longer his alone. It belongs to the world.”
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An image floated out of the darkness into Tree-ear’s mind—that of himself with his eye pressed to the knothole of Kang’s shed.
Stealth.
He could not yet tell Min of Kang’s idea.
Chapter 8
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Tree-ear’s eyes filled with tears. He bent to pick up another piece of laundry. Ajima meant something like “Auntie”; it was a term of great affection, reserved only for older kinswomen. Tree-ear was kin to no one, and yet Min’s wife wished for him to call her Ajima.
The potter’s voice was low, but shook with the effort of control. “The potter’s trade goes from father to son. I had a son once. My son, Hyung-gu. He is gone now. It is him I would have taught. You—”
Tree-ear saw the potter’s eyes, fierce with grief and rage. Min choked out the last words: “You are not my son.”
Chapter 9
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It’s not my fault! Tree-ear wanted to shout. He wanted to run all the way back to Min and scream the words. It’s not my fault you lost your son, not my fault that I am an orphan! Why must it be father to son?
Chapter 10
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Could it be? He had fallen asleep! He had slept for who knew how long, with a fox nearby—and he had survived!
Tree-ear laughed out loud, and the sound of his laughter reminded him of his friend. We are afraid of the things we do not know—just because we do not know them, Tree-ear thought, pleased with himself. He must remember the idea; Crane-man would be interested in discussing it.
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Chapter 13
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“We would like to give you a new name. Would it be agreeable to you if we were to call you Hyung-pil from now on?”
Tree-ear ducked his head quickly, recalling that the son of Min had been called Hyung-gu. A name that shared a syllable! It was an honor bestowed on siblings. No longer would Tree-ear go by the name of an orphan.
