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Chapter 14
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Skellig, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Weakness, Strength, and Hardship
Curiosity, Nature, and Transformation
Love, Empathy, and Caregiving
Imagination, Magic, and Faith
Summary
Analysis
Michael tells Mina that the baby might not die. Mina observes that Michael didn’t go to school; Michael says that Mina didn’t go either. Mina explains that her mother homeschools her because they believe school limits creativity and curiosity. Michael thinks of his teachers and friends and isn’t sure he agrees. Quoting William Blake, Mina says that chicks don’t need school to learn to fly; her father, who now watches her from heaven, believed this. After Mina notes that Michael is a quiet person, Michael asks if she knows humans evolved from apes. Mina nods, saying she hopes humans have more beautiful ancestors, too.
Mina’s promotes homeschooling, claiming that the world is so full of knowledge that a person does not need to sit in a classroom to learn. School, Mina suggests, is a mediating figure that distances students from knowledge. Although Michael does not entirely agree with Mina, he has lately found school uncomfortable and has not been attending. This suggests that Michael, if only subconsciously, agrees that school is not a healthy place in which to learn.
Themes
Michael says it was wonderful to see the owls; he puts his palms together and blows into the gap, making an owl call. Amazed, Mina has Michael show her how to make the owl call. Michael says there is something he wants to show Mina, but he is afraid it is a dream. Mina says that truth and dreams are muddled. Dad calls Michael. Michael says he can’t show Mina now because he has to order 27 and 53. Before leaving, he asks Mina what shoulders are for. As if it is obvious, Mina says they are where wings used to be.
Mina’s claim about truth and dreams suggests that there is no such thing as a pure dream in the sense that dream means “non-reality.” In her view, dreams can reflect reality, just as reality can be dreamlike. This provides the foundation for her taking as fact the mythical idea that shoulders are where wings used to be, back when humans were angels: even if the idea comes from fantasy or mythology, the idea it conveys--that humans have the remarkable capacity to transform and evolve—still has some truth to it.
Themes
