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Chapter 8
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
In the garden, Dad tells Michael his plans. In the yard next door, Mina is drawing in a tree. When Dad goes inside, Michael goes to the fence by Mina. Mina rebukes Michael for scaring away the blackbird. Jumping down from the tree, Mina points to the garage roof where the blackbird is calling, and explains that it is warning its family that danger is near. Then she says there is a nest of the blackbird’s chicks in the tree. Mina asks about Michael’s sister, and Michael says they haven’t named her yet. Mina shows Michael drawings of her birds in her notebook. Mina says that drawing makes people look at the world closer. When Michael says the blackbird is black, Mina rolls her eyes. Mina walks away, saying she looks forward to seeing Michael again.
Mina’s order to look more closely comes to Michael at a time when he is struggling to see the depth in things around him; he can’t see the yard’s potential like Dad can, and he can’t see the colors of the blackbird, only its apparent blackness. Now, Mina urges him to notice details of all kinds: that bird songs are communications, that there is a whole ecosystem around him, and that things are not always as simple as they appear.
Themes
