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Chapter 28
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 is headed to Gretchen’s farm when he hears a gunshot. But it turns out it’s just Gretchen shooting rabbits. Falk happens to notice she uses Winchesters, not Remingtons like the kind found near the bodies. Gretchen offers Falk the shotgun, and he reluctantly agrees to help shoot rabbits. But he can’t shoot and claims he’s just out of practice.
While the fact that Gretchen owns a shotgun could make her a suspect in the Hadler murders, Falk immediately notices that Gretchen uses the wrong brand to have committed the murders. This scene also suggests that shotgun ownership is fairly common in rural Kiewarra.
Themes
Gretchen invites Falk inside. He asks her if Karen ever mentioned him but doesn’t tell her about his phone number on Karen’s receipt. Gretchen says she doesn’t remember Karen mentioning him, although she didn’t know Karen that well. Falk mentions meeting Deacon at the cemetery, and Gretchen says she believes Deacon is the one most responsible for Ellie’s death, which she thinks was a suicide.
Falk’s suspicion of Gretchen with her shotgun earlier suggests how, just as suspicion tore apart his relationship with his father, it threatens to once again do the same with his relationship with Gretchen. When Falk decided not to confess to Gretchen about his alibi during Falk’s murder, it was a crucial turning point in his relationship with her. Now the secrets just keep building as Falk continues to withhold details about the investigation from her.
Themes
Gretchen explains that Ellie was more miserable near the end than either Falk or Luke realized. Falk thinks it was weird how Ellie drank more alcohol than anyone else and then suddenly stopped drinking altogether. Gretchen says surely Falk must’ve had the same suspicion as her: that Ellie was being abused at home. Falk feels guilty about not considering this.
Falk has already gotten several hints about Ellie’s abuse—Barb suggested something similar earlier. Falk’s inability to see Ellie’s suffering speaks to his own occasionally self-centered nature, despite his obvious care for Ellie. It’s perhaps also noteworthy that the first characters to notice Ellie’s abuse are female, implying that as a man in a largely patriarchal small town, Falk might not grasp the role gender plays in perpetuating and hiding abuse.
Themes
In a flashback to 20 years ago, Luke keeps trying to spend time alone with Ellie, ever since their argument over Luke’s prank on the rocky outcropping. Falk also tries to spend time with her after their kiss by the rock tree, but she always seems to have somewhere she needs to be. Ellie considers telling Falk the truth about what’s been going on with her but ultimately decides against it. Then she kisses Falk and leaves.
While many of the flashbacks connect back to the memories of a character in the present, this one is noteworthy for following Ellie’s perspective, even though she died 20 years ago. By giving Ellie more agency to voice her perspective in the story, the book humanizes her as more than just a murder victim or a supporting figure in Falk’s story.
Themes
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