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Chapter 33
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
When Subhi wakes up, Queeny is there, wiping the hair off his face like she did when he was little. Her eyes are sad as she asks if the girl (Jimmie) is real. She apologizes and then pulls a book out from under Maá’s bed. She explains that it’s “the last treasure,” and that this is a book of Ba’s poems. Subhi understands that the Night Sea didn’t bring him treasures—Queeny left them for him. Did Eli know? Queeny says that when a woman came to the camp last year, she shared that she saw someone murder Ba. Maá always said she wanted to tell Subhi, but then she started sleeping and never found a good time. All Subhi’s treasures, Queeny says, were Ba’s. He’s not coming.
As Queeny reveals that she, and not the Night Sea, has been leaving Subhi treasures, it may seem as though she’s depriving the Night Sea of some of its magic. But it seems more likely that her honesty does something else important: it lets Subhi know that he can trust his sister, and that she’s always supported him, even when she thought the Night Sea was silly. In telling him the truth about Ba, too, Queeny allows Subhi to finally grieve and seek closure.
Themes
Deep down, Subhi has known for a while that Ba isn’t coming. Queeny says that it’s okay that Subhi never met him, since Subhi is so much like Ba. At this, Subhi sobs. He’s not like Ba—he’s not brave. Ba would’ve stopped Beaver. Thinking of Eli’s hand, Subhi thinks that maybe he can be like Ba someday. Queeny pulls Subhi in close and tells him stories about Ba. And suddenly, Ba is right in front of Subhi. Subhi has never seen a picture of Ba, but he’s certain this is him. He can feel Ba’s weight and heat next to them as Queeny says that the last poem in the book is about Subhi. Flipping to the middle, Queeny reads the poem, first in Rohingya and then in English. Subhi lets the words fill his brain. The rest of the pages are blank.
While the vision of Ba is entirely Subhi’s, it’s notable that it appears as Queeny tells Subhi stories about Ba. This highlights the power of stories: they can bring people back to life, if only in their loved ones’ memories. The novel suggests that this will be true for Eli as well, particularly if Subhi genuinely does decide to tell the truth about his murder.
Themes
Queeny hugs Subhi and then says that she almost forgot—while Subhi was sleeping, hundreds of dead fish showed up in the morning after the big storm. Harvey told her that sometimes storms can suck fish up from the sea and dump them inland, but it made her think of Subhi’s Night Sea.
The dead fish have a logical, accepted explanation. But Queeny also seems to accept that perhaps there’s more to Subhi’s Night Sea than she realizes.
Themes
