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Chapter 20
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Where the Crawdads Sing, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Survival, Necessity, and Violence
Independence vs. Human Connection
Education, Coming of Age, and Adulthood
Prejudice, Intolerance, and Acceptance
Summary
Analysis
Kya stays in bed for three days. She wonders why everyone in her life has left her, and she laments that she thought Tate was different from all the other people she’s loved. She then decides that there’s nobody in the world she can depend upon, so she makes a promise to herself to never love or trust anyone ever again. Shortly after making this vow, she looks out of her shack and sees a Cooper’s hawk standing on the porch and looking straight at her. Seeing this, she finally gets out of bed and walks down to the beach, where the gulls fly around her in swarms.
In this section, readers see the negative impact that abandonment has on Kya’s worldview. Time and again, her loved ones have proven to her that she can’t put her trust in other humans, so she finally commits to an individualistic life, resolving to never trust anyone. Instead of thinking about Tate, then, Kya refocuses on the only thing that has been a constant source of support and happiness in her life: nature. This, however, does nothing to quell her feelings of loneliness and isolation, which ultimately underscore the importance of human connection.
Themes
Kya stays to herself for the following month. When she finally has to go to Jumpin’s for supplies, she doesn’t linger to talk to him, determined to avoid building yet another relationship that she depends upon, since such relationships only lead to pain. Several days later, she sees the Cooper’s hawk on her porch again, so she names him Coop. This inspires her to go back to exploring the marsh, collecting shells and feathers like she used to. Sometimes she thinks about Tate, but for the most part she tries to focus on her immediate existence. She leads a lonely existence, but time passes, and soon it has been a year since Tate left, and then two more.
As Kya moves on with her life in the aftermath of her relationship with Tate, she focuses not on building new human connections, but on committing herself to the marsh. During this time, Kya takes pleasure in simple things like exploring nature and collecting various specimens, devoting herself to an existence that brings her happiness without exposing her to the possibility of emotional pain. In this way, she protects herself from heartbreak by further isolating herself from the surrounding community, even avoiding Jumpin’ as much as possible despite the fact that he has only ever showed her kindness and support.
Themes
