Elatsoe

by

Darcie Little Badger

Family and Friendship Theme Analysis

Themes and Colors
Family and Friendship Theme Icon
Justice Theme Icon
Cultural Identity and Coming of Age Theme Icon
Colonialism and Monsters Theme Icon
Death, Grief, and Healing Theme Icon
Storytelling Theme Icon
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Elatsoe, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Family and Friendship Theme Icon

Elatsoe follows 17-year-old Ellie, a Lipan Apache girl, and her friends and family in the aftermath of her cousin Trevor’s brutal murder. As Ellie and her friends work to uncover the mystery of how Trevor was murdered, the novel highlights the power of family and friendship to offer support, comfort, and a different perspective in times of need. Ellie knows full well that in order to figure out how Dr. Allerton, a wealthy doctor, murdered Trevor, she can’t work alone: she needs, for instance, her friend Jay’s knack for research, Vivian’s grounding in Lipan traditions, and the vampire Al’s connections in the vampire community to solve the mystery. Indeed, the novel suggests that it’s only because Ellie is able to call on so many people with so many different skill sets that she’s ultimately able to not just identify Dr. Allerton’s particularly sinister way of using magic, but abandon him in the underworld to face retribution from his other ghostly victims.

Additionally, the novel suggests that what makes Ellie’s family and community so successful at this task is that they overwhelmingly accept one another for exactly who they are. Nobody, for instance, bats an eye at Ellie’s asexuality, while Trevor’s Spanish widow, Lenore, is welcomed warmly into the family despite not being Lipan. This contrasts immensely with Jay’s parents’ extreme upset when Jay’s older sister, Ronnie, gets engaged to vampire Al: in addition to wanting to pay for treatment so Al is no longer a vampire (an offer Al declines), they also look for opportunities to break up the couple. True support, the novel suggests, can only happen when people accept one another exactly and unconditionally as they are.

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Family and Friendship Quotes in Elatsoe

Below you will find the important quotes in Elatsoe related to the theme of Family and Friendship.
Chapter 3 Quotes

She trusted the wisdom of her parents and elders. Ellie had heard the dark and violent stories about human ghosts. They were rare and fleeting things that almost always left violence in their wake.

The thing was, she had never been able to understand why they were so terrible. Trevor loved his family and friends; how could death change that? How could anything from Trevor be cruel? It was inconceivable, and yet...

She withdrew her hand from the picture frame. Sometimes, the world was too mysterious for her liking; Ellie intended to change that someday.

Related Characters: Ellie, Trevor
Page Number: 23
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5 Quotes

“Mom told me, ‘Don’t be like Icarus, Ellie. Caution is our friend.’ Because I was immature back then, I asked, ‘Aren’t we supposed to take risks?’”

“That’s a good question,” Jay said. “Not immature at all.”

“Mom thought I was being—in her words—obstinate,” Ellie said. [...] “What I’m trying say is: this summer, investigating my cousin’s murder, we might skirt the line between wise and unwise danger. It’s hard to know that you’re flying too high until the feathers start dropping.”

Related Characters: Ellie (speaker), Jay (speaker), Trevor, Mom/Vivian
Page Number: 49
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6 Quotes

It took a while, but the Leech was finally dead. Ellie had finished Six-Great’s task.

It should have been a proud moment, but Ellie also felt profoundly sad. The Leech was the last of its kind. The monsters of her ancestors had been replaced by different threats. Invasive creatures, foreign curses, cruel magics, and alchemies. Vampires were the new big bloodsuckers.

Related Characters: Ellie, Trevor, Six-Great
Related Symbols: Mushrooms/Willowbee
Page Number: 63
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

“Here,” Lenore said, handing Ellie a velvet-wrapped parcel. “He wanted you to have this.”

Gingerly, Ellie unwrapped Trevor’s Swiss Army knife. “He used to carry this during hikes,” she said. “Every hike. Even little ones in Grandma’s yard. Just in case.” She held it carefully. “I’ll always carry it, too.”

“That’s Trevor,” Lenore said. “Prepared for just about anything. It didn’t help him in the end.”

Related Characters: Ellie (speaker), Lenore (speaker), Trevor, Dr. Abe Allerton
Related Symbols: Swiss Army Knife
Page Number: 90-91
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 13 Quotes

Few things were more personal than a smartphone, so it was probably interred with Trevor during his traditional burial. Sure, their ancient ancestors hadn’t owned pocket-size computers, but tradition accommodated the adaptable nature of humankind.

Related Characters: Ellie, Trevor, Six-Great, Lenore
Page Number: 138-139
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

Despite all of the warnings Ellie had heard her whole life, the fact remained: waking up a human ghost was like getting struck by lightning. Extremely unlikely but dangerous enough that precautions had to be respected. When it came to attracting electricity during a thunderstorm, there were ways to improve the odds. Fly an aluminum kite. Stand under a tall tree. Wave a metal pole at the tumultuous clouds. Likewise, if somebody wanted to wake up a ghost, they could repeat the deceased’s name, disturb their burial ground, or otherwise meddle with the dead person’s body, possessions, home, or family.

Related Characters: Ellie, Trevor, Dr. Abe Allerton, Lenore
Page Number: 161
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 22 Quotes

“If I’m right,” Dan said, “you won’t need to stop waking ghosts, as long as you’re mindful of the difference between the dead and the living.” He wagged a finger at Ellie, as if lecturing a class of rowdy toddlers. “There is a difference. The dead should not seem like kin. When they do? They might devour you.”

Related Characters: Dan (speaker), Ellie, Trevor, Mom/Vivian, Kirby
Page Number: 229-230
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 23 Quotes

“Be patient. Have faith.” Vivian put her arms around Lenore and Ellie and pulled them into a hug.

“Faith in what?” Lenore asked, and she sounded genuinely curious and a little bit spiteful. “Justice?”

“Family,” Vivian said. “It’s all we’ve ever had.”

Related Characters: Mom/Vivian (speaker), Lenore (speaker), Ellie, Trevor, Dr. Abe Allerton
Page Number: 240-241
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 28 Quotes

Ellie always reasoned that Six-Great lived in a more violent era, one that transformed pacifists into warriors. Six-Great didn’t fight because she enjoyed it; she had to protect her family and friends from genocide.

There were still people to protect. That, Ellie now realized, would never change.

Related Characters: Ellie, Kirby, Jay, Dr. Abe Allerton, Six-Great, Al
Page Number: 285
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 30 Quotes

“Everything I do tonight will be for him. For justice.” The exorcist corpse’s head flopped to one side, as if trying to study Ellie with its cloudy eyes. “He loved you,” the emissary said. “He loved all his family.”

“I love Trevor,” she said. “Always will.”

“Someday, you’ll be reunited,” the emissary promised. “If you want that day to come sooner rather than later, interfere with my vengeance.”

“Vengeance?” she wondered. “Didn’t you say ‘justice’ a moment ago?”

“In this case, they’re the same.”

Related Characters: Ellie (speaker), Trevor (speaker), Dr. Abe Allerton
Related Symbols: Mushrooms/Willowbee
Page Number: 296
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 31 Quotes

Vivian wondered if she’d made the right decision by bringing Ellie to the party. She admired her daughter’s courage. Of course she did! But the world presented too many opportunities for brave people to risk their lives. Wisdom helped reduce those risks; the inexperience of youth increased them.

Related Characters: Ellie, Trevor, Mom/Vivian, Al, Ronnie
Page Number: 305
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 32 Quotes

“I am a neutral force,” Dr. Allerton said. “My healing balances my harm. Ellie, I tried to help you and your family. Did you know that I collected scholarship money for Trevor’s child? Well? Enough to pay for college! For grad school! You just wouldn’t let it go. Everything is a mess now.”

“Shut it,” Ellie said. “All the scholarships in the world can’t be a father to Gregory.”

Related Characters: Ellie (speaker), Dr. Abe Allerton (speaker), Trevor, Gregory
Related Symbols: Mushrooms/Willowbee
Page Number: 327
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 34 Quotes

How long would it take for the earth to heal? When would the sap on the metal-scarred tree harden into amber? It seemed odd that an act so violent and cruel could leave gemstones in its wake.

Related Characters: Ellie, Trevor, Dr. Abe Allerton
Page Number: 339
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 36 Quotes

“There’s a lot I want to learn,” Ellie said. “My mother, her mother, and my grandmother’s mother taught me about the way of our land, our dead, and our monsters, but the times have changed. I need college to prepare for the next Willowbee.”

Related Characters: Ellie (speaker), Mom/Vivian, Jay, Six-Great, Grandmother
Related Symbols: Mushrooms/Willowbee
Page Number: 351
Explanation and Analysis: