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The Dogs They Left Behind
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in When Will There Be Good News?, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Trauma, Survival, and Reckoning with the Past
Appearances vs. Reality
Lies and Deceptions
Family
Summary
Analysis
Jackson feels he’s somewhere in between life and death. He feels as if he’s being consumed by purifying flames, and his brain is filled with static. People come to visit him—his parents, his brother, and random figures like old teachers and neighbors. It exhausts him. He only wants to see Niamh, but she doesn’t return. He finally has enough and wants to get out of the “madhouse.” He opens his eyes and is greeted by a nurse. He tells her he feels “fuzzy.”
In his injured, near-death, state, Jackson is overwhelmed by vivid thoughts and memories of loved ones. The chapter title, “Adam Lay Ybounden,” refers to a late medieval poem about the fall of man and its accompanying curse of death. Jackson finally has enough of the mental confusion and returns to consciousness.
Themes
