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Chapter 24
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
At Sergeant Raco’s place, his wife, Rita Raco, serves Falk pasta. Rita says her husband is nervous and overprotective because their first child is due any day now. She says Raco’s father was a longtime police officer in a small town in South Australia. The talk about fathers makes Falk think about how his own relationship with Erik Falk suffered after they had to leave for Melbourne. He remembers that on the day they left, when Deacon followed them for several miles outside of Kiewarra, Deacon was driving a white ute.
The impending birth of Raco’s first son provides context for why the Hadler case is so important for him. In addition with Raco identifying with the young father Luke, Raco also wants to make Kiewarra safer for his own child—particularly if there’s still the chance that a murderer is on the loose. Deacon’s white ute could suggest that he’s the one who saw Luke 20 years ago, shortly after Ellie’s death, although it would be strange if Deacon witnessed Luke near the murder scene and continued to blame only Falk for so many years.
Themes
Falk remembers how on the day he and Erik Falk left Kiewarra, his father pulled over on the side of the road and asked point-blank if Falk had any involvement at all with Ellie’s death. Falk denied it. His father wondered why Falk’s name was on the note, but Falk turned the question around and suggested the note could refer to Erik Falk. Falk’s father got angry. He asked if Falk was really with Luke, and Falk lied to his father’s face and said he had been with Luke.
Like his relationship with Luke, Falk’s relationship with his father also suffered from secrets and lack of trust—perhaps suggesting that the real problem isn’t just that Ellie died, but also that Falk remained a “closed book” who refused to discuss the incident with others. Falk’s continued impulse to lie, even after he and his father had left Kiewarra for good, seems to reflect that perhaps Falk has been afraid of facing the truth the whole time.
Themes
