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Definition of Allegory
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and events. The story of "The Tortoise and The Hare" is... read full definition
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and events. The story of "The... read full definition
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and... read full definition
Story: Part 1
Explanation and Analysis:
The Marrow Thieves—along with many other indigenous American and Canadian narratives—centers the land as a setting of great cultural and emotional significance. In a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by climate degradation, pollution, and global warming, nature's suffering parallels that of indigenous people. Climate change has a direct impact on Native peoples' spiritual and physical health.
Simultaneously, harm done to the environment serves as an allegorical embodiment of indigenous genocide. Settler-colonial governments in Canada and the U.S. have an extractive relationship with both Native peoples and the land they traditionally reside on. These governments started by extracting oil, food, water, and minerals from the land, and when those resources became sparse or unusable, they turned to extracting dreams from indigenous people.
Dimaline constructs the setting in The Marrow Thieves as a central allegory for the suffering her characters experience. Take, for example, Miig's description of the Water Wars from "Story: Part One":
“The Water Wars raged on, moving north seeking our rivers and bays, and eventually, once our homelands were decimated and the water leeched and the people scattered, they moved on to the towns. Only then were armies formed, soldiers drafted, and bullets fired."
In this passage, Miig reflects on the loss of something so beautiful and essential now turned poisonous by human greed and exploitation. When water resources became scarce, humans turned to violence; similarly, when settler-colonists ceased to dream, they defaulted to genocide as a means of extracting the resources they needed.
Related Themes:
