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Chapter 16
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Motorcycles & Sweetgrass, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Cultural Maintenance vs. Loss
Grief and Trauma
Colonialism and Land Use
Stories and Religion
Humor
Summary
Analysis
When Virgil and Wayne reach the mainland, Wayne stops by the cemetery to visit Lillian’s grave. He wishes he had come to see her before she died, but he also knows that participating in the circle of life was “not a great sacrifice for her.” They visit Sammy Aandeg’s house, and when Sammy yells at them in Anishnawbe, Wayne yells back in the same language, which pleasantly surprises Sammy. Sammy explains that John (whom he calls “Caliban”) is out with Maggie.
Because Lilliam prioritized imparting traditional knowledge to Wayne, he has a more traditionally Anishnawbe outlook on life and death than other characters. Sammy’s nickname for John references Shakespeare’s play The Tempest. In the play, Caliban is a monster and enslaved by the play’s protagonist, Prospero. The prevalence of slavery and European reactions to indigeneity in the play make it a popular text to study in a colonial context, and it has been used to both promote and critique imperialism.
Themes
Virgil and Wayne set out to find John and Maggie, only to find them riding on John’s motorcycle. They follow the motorcycle, encountering two racoons on their way. John drops Maggie off at her car and opens the window of Sammy’s bedroom, honoring a promise to the local mosquitos. Then he goes to the docks, and Virgil and Wayne watch from a distance as John is surrounded by raccoons. John seems to argue with the raccoons, insisting that “it was a long time ago” and they should “move on.” Disturbed, Wayne pulls Virgil away from the docks.
John is an ancient being, and he has history with the land, its wildlife, and its human residents. He has no conception of a hierarchy among these entities, but nor he does not bear personal loyalty to any of them. Sammy is giving him a place to live, but John promised the mosquitos blood, so he lets them suck Sammy’s. He argues with racoons the same way he argues with humans. In fact, he speaks more openly with them since they have passed down a generational knowledge of him that humans have lost.
Themes
When they are alone, Wayne hesitantly suggests that John might actually be the legendary Nanabush. Virgil dismisses this, since not only is Nanabush fictional, but John is white. Wayne argues that tricksters love to change their appearances, and that Nanabush is known by different names around Canada just like John changes his last name. Wayne explains that beings like Nanabush have different morals and rules than humans, and that John/Nanabush will do whatever he pleases to get what he wants. An alarmed Virgil realizes that what John wants is Maggie. Wayne adds that the carving of John going west with Maggie likely symbolizes his plan to bring her to the land of the dead.
Virgil recognizes John as Nanabush thanks to his knowledge of Lillian’s stories, but he doesn’t take that recognition seriously until Wayne validates it. Wayne is able to seriously consider this possibility because he has immersed himself in Anishnawbe culture, language, and stories. While John is often a comic figure, he also embodies the darker aspect of the archetypal trickster. His immaturity, connection to the wilderness, and love of chaos distinguish him from normal humans, and these traits also make him a dangerous threat.
Themes
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The parallel between John and the racoon watching sleeping women for their own ends emphasizes that John is as much like an animal as he is a human. Like Wayne said, John has no moral qualms when it comes to getting what he wants.
Themes
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