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Chapter 11
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Bone Sparrow, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Dehumanization, Invisibility, and Refugee Camps
Childhood
Family and Friendship
Storytelling, Escapism, and Hope
Summary
Analysis
Jimmie stops outside the fence to think. She knows the story by heart, but she forgot about it until now. Jonah always said the stories were silly. Jimmie said the same so she could sound cool, like her brother. But her mum just said that things were different “in the old country,” a long time ago. After a while, their mum stopped trying to tell them the stories. Now, Jimmie hates how she behaved. Her mum seemed to know how Jimmie actually felt, though, since when Jimmie couldn’t sleep and crawled in with her mum, her mum told her the stories. Now, Jimmie kisses the Bone Sparrow and heads home to bed. She sleeps well for the first time in three years.
While it’s framed as background information, this passage confirms and reminds readers that Jimmie and her family were immigrants to Australia generations ago, just like Subhi is in the present day. The difference between them is simply when they came to Australia. Meanwhile, reading her mum’s story allows Jimmie to finally get some closure after her mum’s death, which is why she sleeps so well tonight.
Themes
