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Back into the Woods
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Marrow Thieves, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Cyclical Histories, Language, and Indigenous Oppression
Family and Coming of Age
Humans and Nature
Trauma, Identity, and Pride
Summary
Analysis
Isaac and Miig ran to their secluded cabin in the early days before things got too bad. Their first three months were uneventful. Isaac, a poet, continued to write in English and in Cree. They heard a commotion outside one night and, hopeful that it was game, they took their rifle to check. A ways out from their back shed, they found a man and two women, one of which was clearly plains Cree. Miig couldn't identify the other two. Isaac had always been willing to help "strays," and Isaac decided that they'd approach.
Isaac's trusting nature suggests that he doesn't share the history of trauma and dehumanization like Miig and the kids in Miig's group do, given that he's willing to override Miig's suspicions and meet them. This shows that while family can be a positive thing, trusting can also lead to horrible consequences in some cases.
Themes
The older two greeted Isaac and Miig in Anishnaabe, but the young woman tried to pull her hood up. The older woman wouldn't let her. The man told Isaac that he'd hurt his ankle, and the older woman said she was crampy and rubbed her belly. Miig didn't think she looked pregnant. Isaac offered Miig's services as a healer, but the man insisted they didn't need medical attention. Miig says that he should've known from the man's pack, which seemed almost new, and the man's cavalier attitude about food, that something was off.
Importantly, Miig's suspicions of their guests stem from his history as an Indigenous person whose ancestors suffered greatly. Seeing that the man is cavalier about his food suggests that he's not actually out living on the land, and that he possibly has more food waiting for him elsewhere—something that would mark him as, to use Miig's term, not a "real Indian."
Themes
The guests slept in the guest room, and the older woman never let the younger one out of her sight. The young woman told Miig and Isaac that the older two were her cousins, while later, the man told Isaac that the two women were sisters. The younger woman seemed scared, but Isaac assured Miig that being on the run would make anyone scared and skittish. Still, Miig kept a close eye on their guests. He woke up in the middle of the second night and stepped into the hallway. The young woman was there, and she shushed Miig and told him that he and Isaac needed to run. She revealed a blinking ankle monitor as the man came into the hallway yelling and the older woman dragged the younger one back to their room. Miig noticed that the man wasn't limping, and the young woman screamed for Miig and Isaac to run.
The controlling behavior of the two older people suggests that the younger woman isn't traveling with them of her own accord. Once it's revealed that these three are working with Recruiters, the younger woman in particular shows how the possibility of working with Recruiters in exchange for safety is something that's morally difficult yet extremely attractive. This illustrates how, in a world like this that's filled with suspicion and danger, the government is able to fracture the Indigenous community further by using spies like these three to capture people like Miig and Isaac.
Themes
The man backed away through a doorway, closed it, and began to pile furniture in front of it. Miig realized the rumors were true and knew he needed to move. He locked himself in the bedroom with Isaac and they began to pack, but Miig saw Recruiters driving up. Miig insisted they leave immediately with nothing, but Isaac suggested they try to talk to them. He didn't believe the rumors. Miig was terrified. Isaac's family didn't experience the original residential schools, and Miig knew that this was why Isaac wasn't afraid. Before they could argue, Recruiters swarmed into the house. Miig says that if he'd known what was going to happen next, he would've killed himself and Isaac.
Miig's comment that he should've killed himself and Isaac makes it clear that for him, his relationship with Isaac was—and still is—the most important thing to him. At least in hindsight, he's willing to give up on bringing up the next generation of Indigenous kids in order to die with his love, rather than suffer in the schools. With this, the novel suggests that one of the most traumatic parts of this situation is the way that the schools tear families apart.
Themes
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