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The shell necklace that Kya gives to Chase becomes a manifestation of the dissonance between her desire to be loved and her wariness to let other people into her life. When she and Chase first spend time together, he finds a shell and gives it to her. Later that very day, Chase forces Kya out of her comfort zone by trying to have sex with her before she’s ready—a turn of events that imbues the shell with meaning, turning it into a reminder that even people who seem nice at first can quickly turn into a threat. However, Kya ends up putting the shell on a necklace that she later gives to Chase as a gift. This suggests that her yearning to be in a relationship with somebody overrides her initial misgivings about Chase. What’s interesting, though, is that Kya takes the shell necklace off of Chase’s dead body after killing him, thereby symbolically reclaiming her power over their relationship by taking back the very thing that represents both her own acquiescence to Chase and the danger that he posed to her wellbeing.
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The Shell Necklace Symbol Timeline in Where the Crawdads Sing
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Shell Necklace appears in Where the Crawdads Sing. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 19. Something Going On: 1969
...it is, Ed tells Joe, Patti Love said it has to do with a shell necklace that Chase used to wear at all times.
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Chapter 24. The Fire Tower: 1965
Kya tells Chase that she made a necklace for him, taking it out of her pocket and handing it to him. The necklace...
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Chapter 25. A Visit from Patti Love: 1969
...their house to the fire tower. At dinner, Patti says, he was wearing the shell necklace that he always used to wear. However, the necklace wasn’t on his body when he...
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Chapter 36. To Trap a Fox: 1969
...Chase’s death. They also recall that Patti Love told them Kya made Chase a shell necklace, and that this necklace disappeared the night he died. However, they aren’t sure about Kya’s...
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Chapter 48. A Trip: 1969
...murdered. Hearing this, Kya asks why he thinks this, and Jumpin’ explains that Chase’s shell necklace was missing when Sheriff Jackson found him. This mention of the necklace makes Kya’s mouth...
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Chapter 50. The Journal: 1970
...daughter-in-law. The conversation that follows between Patti Love and Eric has to do with Chase’s necklace and how it disappeared on the night of his death. Eric also holds up a...
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Chapter 57. The Firefly
...against his chest. Looking deep inside the cardboard box, he finds something else: the shell necklace that Chase wore until he died. Suddenly, it becomes clear to Tate that Kya did...
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