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Chapter 30
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Great Alone, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Trauma and Violence
Paranoia and the Vietnam War
Isolation
Family and Community
Death and Grief
Coming of Age
Summary
Analysis
Before Leni can leave Geneva’s cabin, Matthew says, “Wait.” Internally, Matthew is confused; he cannot articulate his thoughts the way he wants to. However, he recognizes Leni as the person he’s been waiting for. Happy that Matthew recognizes her, Leni begins explaining her life over the past several years. She apologizes for leaving Matthew and explains why she couldn’t come back. She tells Matthew that he has a son and she’s brought him here so they could meet. Matthew is skeptical; he does not think his son could ever love him, but Leni assures him that’s not true.
Once again, the perspective changes to first-person to allow for an understanding of what Matthew is thinking. However, this switch is less necessary now, because Matthew can also speak, albeit in a limited capacity. It is hard to get a clear idea of Matthew’s capabilities—his condition is rather unpredictable—but Leni’s presence seems to improve things.
Themes
Leni takes Matthew to the beach and introduces him to MJ. MJ immediately takes a liking to his father and the two play together on the beach. He teaches MJ how to skip rocks, just as he had previously taught Leni. While they play, Tom explains to Leni that Matthew was convinced she’d come back; it didn’t take him long to figure out who “HER” was. He asks Leni if she plans on staying. Leni responds, “I have no idea what this new life of mine will look like, but I’m staying.”
MJ is completely nonjudgmental and loves his father unconditionally. Finally, the Walkers and the Allbrights are given a moment of genuine happiness; everyone is back together, and no one is trying to keep them apart. Although Leni remains unsure about the future, she knows that she’s found the place where she belongs.
Themes
After spending some time at the Walker place, Leni decides it’s time to visit her old house. She tells Matthew that she wants to go alone, although he secretly tags along anyway. When she arrives at the Allbright cabin, Leni finds it in a similar state to when she first moved to Alaska, with dead insects and animal droppings everywhere. Matthew asks her what she wants to do with the place. Leni isn’t sure, though she does consider burning it down and starting over.
Given her negative experiences in the old cabin, one might expect Leni to avoid it at all costs. However, Leni has matured over the years and wants to tackle her past head on. Once that’s done, burning the cabin down is an appealing idea. Though Leni cannot erase the past, she can start again, this time on her terms.
Themes
Not long afterwards, on a beautiful summer day, Leni invites her old friends to join her on the beach near her old home. Everyone shows up, including the Walkers, Marge, Ms. Rhodes, and the Harlans. Leni gathers them all to celebrate Cora’s life. She tells everyone how much Cora cared for them and how much it would mean to her to see them all gathered around in her honor. After her short speech, Leni takes out a jar of her mother’s ashes and spreads them into the water. As she does so, she says, “I will always love you.”
In the closing sections of the novel, family and community once again take center stage. Because Leni is not close with any of her family members—excluding the Gollihers and MJ—the community of Kaneq becomes her family. She is touched that everyone shows up to celebrate her mother, and finally it seems that she will be able to live in peace. Ernt is gone, her mother is laid to rest, and she is reunited with the people she loves most in the world.
Themes
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Many years later, in 2009, Leni writes a piece for a newspaper about her life in Alaska. At this point, Leni is now a celebrated photographer with three children: MJ, Kenai, and Cora. She writes about her love for Alaska, despite her trials and tribulations. Toward the end of the piece, she writes, “Alaska is home, always and forever, the song you hear when the world is still and quiet. You either belong here, wild and untamed yourself, or you don’t. I belong.”
After spreading Cora’s ashes, it appears that Leni is able to live life the way she always wanted. Alaska, though it’s become more modern, hasn’t lost its wildness, as Ernt feared, and Leni still loves the place she lives. Over the course of the novel, Leni transitions from a lonely child in Seattle to an adult in Alaska surrounded by a loving community. She’s found her place in the world and managed to find happiness in an unlikely place despite her troubled past.
Themes
