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Chapter 11
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Dry, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Human Cost of Climate Change
Justice
Urban vs. Rural
Friendship
Summary
Analysis
Falk complains to Sergeant Raco that the two of them would’ve known about Billy’s invitation to see Whitlam’s daughter if they had been keeping in touch with the Clyde police. Raco, however, doesn’t feel confident that they have enough evidence to go to Clyde yet.
Raco’s reluctance to go to Clyde shows once again how sometimes official justice institutions can actually impede the process of carrying out justice, in this case by adding an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
Themes
Just then, Gretchen jogs by. Falk goes to talk with her alone while Sergeant Raco goes back to the car. Gretchen asks Falk why he’s still in Kiewarra. Falk doesn’t want to tell her too much, so he just says the murder case is “about the money.” They talk for a few minutes longer, and Falk feels like he did when he knew her 20 years ago. They make plans to meet the next night, and Gretchen gives him her number.
Falk’s budding romantic relationship with Gretchen seems to be a continuation of their feelings from 20 years ago. Whether or not Falk and Gretchen like each other at 16, it seems clear that at age 36, they both want some way to go back to the way things used to be when they were teenagers, which a relationship could help them do.
Themes
Falk goes back to Sergeant Raco. They decide to go back to Raco’s station to open the cardboard box of Billy and Karen’s things that Whitlam gave them. The station, like most of Kiewarra, looks run-down and underfunded. Falk is worried that the 60-year-old receptionist at the desk seems to recognize him, but she leaves for the day, giving Falk and Raco privacy.
Raco’s underfunded police department turns out to be both a blessing and a curse. While it doesn’t have the resources of a larger department like Clyde, the sparseness of the office also gives Raco the freedom to carry out his own ideas without having to worry about constantly checking in with superiors or justifying his actions to them.
Themes
Falk thinks back to the night after he talked to Luke about their alibi hunting rabbits, when he was lying in bed, waiting for the police to come and ask him about Ellie. But instead, the police wanted to speak with Falk’s father, Erik Falk, since Falk was still 16 and Ellie’s note didn’t specify which Falk she was referring to. Erik Falk had an alibi, and he refused to say anything about his son. The younger Falk (Aaron) nervously gave his testimony about shooting rabbits with Luke. After that, Aaron felt like his father always looked at him strange. One day, someone left a dead calf with a slit throat on their doorstep, and the next day, they left Kiewarra, with Deacon’s ute following them for the first hundred miles.
Once again, Harper manages audience expectations by exploring the idea that the “Falk” on Ellie’s note actually referred to Erik Falk, the father of protagonist Aaron Falk. By noting that Erik Falk had an alibi, this passage seems to clear him of any involvement in Ellie’s death, and yet there’s still the possibility that things aren’t what they seem. This passage hints at a potential wedge in Aaron Falk and Erik Falk’s relationship, where Ellie’s death prevented either of them from being able to fully trust the other.
Themes
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In the present, Sergeant Raco explains to Falk that the officer that Clyde sent to Kiewarra seemed well-intentioned enough but not very experienced. Raco and Falk open the cardboard box and don’t find anything at first that stands out. They both agree that it was strange that Karen kept Billy home that day, but they admit that nothing in the box seems helpful.
Not every lead that Raco and Falk pursue end up bringing them closer to an answer. The novel shows how searching for the truth can involve setbacks and false leads, like this box full of objects from Karen and Billy that seemingly holds nothing relevant to the case.
Themes
