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Chapter 6
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 shines his light behind the chest—the creature is there. When Michael asks what the creature is doing, the creature says “nothing.” Michael warns the creature that the garage will be torn down soon. His heart pounding, Michael asks if the creature is Ernie Myers. The creature scoffs. Michael offers to bring the creature inside, but the creature tells him to go away. When Michael asks if he can bring the creature anything to eat, the creature says aspirin and 27 and 53. Michael is confused, but the creature tells him to go away.
Michael seems to be looking to the creature’s existence for answers about death, something that hearing Ernie Myers’s story has taught him to fear. Michael’s inability to fully comprehend Ernie’s death and the fact that Ernie was left to decay under the kitchen table lead Michael to wonder if the creature is perhaps the reincarnation of Ernie. Michael’s desire to heal the creature seems to stem from his broader desire to counteract or undo death.
Themes
Michael leaves the garage. Inside the house, Dad is singing in the bath. Suddenly, a girl’s head appears over the fence. The girl introduces herself as Mina. She waits, clicking her tongue, until Michael tells her his name. Mina runs off, calling back that it was nice to meet him.
Michael’s introduction to Mina shows Mina’s bold nature. Mina exchanges names with Michael and then runs off, having gotten everything she wanted from this brief first meeting. This shows that she is confident and disregards social convention.
Themes
