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Chapter Seventeen
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Messenger, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Selfishness vs. the Collective Good
Youth, Memory, and the Future
Humans and Nature
Identity and Difference
Summary
Analysis
Seer sits alone at home, afraid. Yesterday, he started to dig Kira's garden and told Jean happily that Matty and Kira would arrive soon. Earlier this morning, however, Leader told Seer the truth about what's happening to Matty and Kira. Leader prepared to leave and told Seer to keep it a secret that he's going into Forest to save them. He said that he's afraid that if Mentor and the others building the wall realize he's gone, they won't let him back in. Seer suggested that Leader take weapons, but Leader insisted that his gift is his weapon. Seer feels hopeless and touches the tapestry that Kira made. He feels the knots and the snags, and he can smell death.
By insisting that his gift is an acceptable weapon with which to battle Forest, Leader implies that he'll be able to fix what's happening by tapping into his mind and the minds of others. This mirrors the novel's larger assertion that things can change only when many people change their thinking and agree either to focus on selfishness and individuality (as is currently happening in Village) or on the common good.
Themes
