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Chapter 4
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
While sitting on the front porch of Luke’s farmhouse, Sergeant Raco tells Falk that a courier discovered the murders two weeks ago. The doctor, Dr. Leigh, made it to the scene first. As he’s telling the story, Raco offers Falk one of Luke’s old cigarettes. Falk takes one, even though he hasn’t smoked in a long time. Raco continues the story, explaining how after he arrived, he and the doctor heard Charlotte crying, upset but unharmed.
Falk’s decision to smoke, after he hasn’t for a long time, mirrors how he stayed out of Kiewarra for a long time only to finally return. This comparison hints that Kiewarra might have an “addictive” effect like smoking, trapping people in desperate economic situations and preventing them from leaving.
Themes
After finding Charlotte, Sergeant Raco went into Billy’s room and found his corpse, which was the worst thing he’d ever seen on the job. Several people tried to phone Luke, who didn’t answer. Raco and some others organized a search-and-rescue team to find Luke, not knowing if he was dead or alive, or possibly even still wielding a gun and ready to shoot. They were slightly relieved when they found him dead in the back of his ute (a “utility” vehicle with an open cargo area in the back) in a clearing, still holding his own shotgun and with most of his face blown off.
Throughout the story, Billy’s death in particular continues to haunt Raco, motivating his unusual dedication to solving the case. Raco seems disturbed by the loss of innocence that Billy’s death represents, and as later parts of the book reveal, Raco will soon be a father. This passage also helps capture the fear and uncertainty in the immediate aftermath of discovering Karen and Billy’s bodies, providing more context for how the current situation came to be.
Themes
Sergeant Raco tells Falk that based on the position of Karen’s body, it seemed like she was answering the door as she was shot. He finds this odd because surely Luke had a key to his own farmhouse and didn’t need anyone to let him inside.
Sergeant Raco shows close attention to detail, noticing things that the police investigators from Clyde missed. This perhaps suggests that Raco’s personal connection to the case (his horror at seeing Billy) is helping him to better investigate it.
Themes
Sergeant Raco then takes Falk to Billy’s bedroom, where large parts of the carpet have been ripped up (because of the blood). Raco says he feels like whoever shot Billy did a search of the room, which is strange because Luke would’ve known Billy’s hiding places.
Raco projects his own ideas about parenthood onto Luke. While Raco’s theories seem logical, it’s also possible that Raco doesn’t want Luke to be guilty because as a soon-to-be parent, a part of Raco identifies with Luke.
Themes
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Sergeant Raco then muses that whoever killed Billy would’ve only had to take eight or nine more steps to kill Charlotte. Falk supposes that Luke could change his mood abruptly, but he too begins to doubt that Luke was the killer. Falk considers all the possible reasons for letting Charlotte live before deciding that the most likely one is because she’s too young to remember anything and be a witness.
This passage, where Falk realizes that Charlotte likely survived because she was too young to be a witness, is a key turning point in the story. While it’s possible Luke spared Charlotte because he felt guilty about killing Billy, Falk feels that the witness theory is more plausible, meaning that Falk no longer considers Luke a suspect and thus is ready to join forces with Raco to try to clear Luke’s name.
Themes
