"Fearing the sickness that had fallen over their camp,
they left the bodies of their loved
ones behind and moved to a nearby riverbank." (Robertson 40).
These two quotes illustrate the two themes of grief/loss and sickness because of how it is effectively shown in the quotes that display it. The top quote shows how once someone like a loved one passes, they are gone for good. You will never be able to see them on this planet ever again. And the bottom quote is accurate to what you would want to do if there was a deadly sickness that you did not know about in the place you lived at, you would want to flee the area and go to somewhere safer and cleaner. This is what the family in the novel did, making the display of these quotes very accurate.
"Leave him, son. He's gone." (Robertson 39).
An Image From Each Theme
Sickness - A very sick person lying down, coughing and wheezing
Grief and Loss - A person crying in front of the dead body of a loved one.
These four quotes illustrate the themes of this story by representing what a person going through the ideas of these themes would be feeling. These are the body stances, actions, and emotions that a person experiencing these themes would have in a person's mind if they tried to imagine an image where a person was experiencing these themes.
Regret - A person sitting down with their head facing down, expressing some regret over something.
Perseverance - A person working hard or walking with pride.
Key Event - the boy leaving behind
the girl with the disease in the tent
This event greatly illustrates the theme of regret well in the story because of how effectively it is portrayed through the boy character. He goes to see the sick girl with the disease in the tent at the camp, but does not let him go with him and his group because of warnings and reminders of the fact that she is sick with the disease, despite the fact that he does want her to come with them. Once him and his group set up a campfire from a distance, the boy was expressing guilt and regret for her to his group. His group told him that he survived from leaving her, but the boy felt like no one should be left behind to die. He went back to the camp they found her at, hoping that she would still be fine to bring with them, but it was too late, as she was seconds away from death, with nothing he could do about it. This caused a time for the boy that he remembers and regrets deeply because of him leaving someone to die with the sickness, strongly expressing the theme for this event.
Key Event - the boy being introduced to the unknown disease from losing his father because
This event is a very good example of two main themes of grief/loss and sickness because it shows the boy rushing towards a tent at his camp to find his father, very sick, laying inside. As the boy is talking with his father, he passes. The boy yells out, but is told by someone next to him that it is simply too late for his father and that his body needs to be wrapped in a casket of buffalo hide, with the boy watching this process happen. This is an effective event that captures the process of losing a loved one from a sickness you may not have even known at all in front of your eyes very well.
Two Key Quotes for Regret
”I'm sorry, I should not have left you.” (Robertson 55).
These two quotes illustrate the theme of regret because they show how someone can make one choice, realize the consequence of their choice, come back to the place they made that choice at, and see what happened due to the choice, filling them with a deep regret. The boy made the choice of leaving the sick girl behind, but ran back to get her because he realized that choice was wrong. He was too late, and the sickness had already taken the girl's life. You can sense the regret he is feeling from this decision in the quote he says which is displayed below.
”I'm sorry, we can't take you with us.” (Robertson 51).
Two Key Quotes for Perseverance
”He was the only one left and fought hard to stay alive. But he was weak and losing hope.” (Robertson 47).
These two quotes illustrate the theme of perseverance because they are accurate to what a real journey that someone would have to persevere through is like. The boy starts to think that all is lost, but he still gets through to the end of the journey to the other camp, safe from the disease. He did this through perseverance.
”He survived through one of the dark times in our history. He survived to pass on these stories to others, through many generations.” (Robertson 62).
Key Event - the snake coming out of the cloud attacking the boy, with the thunderbird saving his life
This event illustrates a major theme of perseverance well because the boy had been out trekking back to his safe camp for so long that he was so tired but at the same time, so close to his goal. The snake in the cloud coming at him represents how he was so close to giving up right near his goal, but the thunderbird saving him represents him taking a few more steps forward, reaching the camp and surviving the tough times with this disease spreading. The boy lived on to the times where this disease was given a name, and explain the times with this disease to many generations to come.
