Analysis and Review of Cherie Dimaline's The Marrow Thieves
In this work "Cherie Dimaline's The Marrow Thieves Essay" we will talk about this book and its main themes.
Overview
This book takes place in a very futuristic world destroyed by global warming. Many places, cities, towns, coastlines are wrecked “breaking off like crust” and all the communities are wiped out by natural disasters. People have lost the ability to dream due to all the trauma, which leads to insanity and isolation. Some people that are still able to dream are North America's Indigenous people, who carry their dreams in bone marrows. This bone marrow can save all of humankind, and the whole world but getting it would be unethical. Frenchie, a teenager on the run from government “recruiters. ”
Theme(s)
The main themes of this book are leadership, hope and family. This book re-introduces the topic of residential schools for all indigenous kids, where the recruiters are trying to make serums, and commodities to bring back the ability to dream for all humans. Since this book portrays indigenous people as inhumane, and just commodities to be hunted for a benefit of the others, there is great need of hope and love for them. “They changed on us like the new agers looking for ways they could take what we had, and administer it themselves. ”- Cherie Dimaline (p. 27). The relationships between the makeshift family, romantic relationship and overall just between characters portray what humans need in life. Love, hope and family acts as a weapon to flee their situation.
A quote from this book that touches base on both hope and love is; “When we heal our land, we are healed also… We’ll get there. Maybe not soon, but eventually”- Cherie Dimaline (p193). One specific quote about family that we get to see in this book is: “We go to the schools and they leach the dreams from where our ancestors hid them, in the honeycombs of slushy marrow buried in our bones. And us? Well, we join our ancestors, hoping we left enough dreams behind for the next generation to stumble across. ” - Cherie Dimaline (p. 73). The marrow thieves has a connection to the Long Assault, and continues to show how much oppression went down in the history, in the past and the future. All bone marrow produces blood cells, called red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells. These cells are key to life- “basic functional unit of life”, growth, and our survival, by which we fight off disease. When the "Recruiters" come to steal the marrow from the indigenous people in the book, this echoes the metaphor of what was done in American and Canadian history to indigenous children in the Westernizing residential schools. In taking their freedom and their language, their cultural health was being stolen in return for emptiness and death. They were snatched their culture, lifestyle, traditions, language, everything that they had possession over. This assault continued in the book as the government does nothing to fix this injustiseful problem. It continues to happen, and all the indigenous people can do to save themselves, is to run.
A good book makes a reader feel emotions, and connect with the protagonist. The main characters of this book are coming of age, and everything in their world is not perfect. The painful irony in this book is that the bone marrow cures the society’s inability to dream but takes the ability cruelly from indigenous people. Although this book shows how hard life is for the people that run for their lives, it also shows us how love, family and feeling hopeful can affect the story. This allows them to keep going further, and to never give up because all of the characters know they can stick up for eachother. It is not a fast-paced adventure, and this is not a book you will be able to skim through and put away. It draws readers in and they may find they care deeply about the wisdom and sacrifice of Minerva; about Miig and the memories he holds around his neck, a pouch full of glass shards and lost hope; about Rose and her round cheeks and flinty will; about Frenchie, and his longing for love and hope. This book definitely had a great impact on me, it amazed me of how well the characters were able to take control of the situation and didn’t let anything get in between them and their minds. The medicine wheel helped me understand the characters’ journey on many levels.
The Indigenous knowledge and worldview begins with Medicine Wheel teachings come from the gifts of the directions, and the actions of those gifts (see it, relate to it, figure it out, do it), and the learning process (awareness, understanding, knowledge, wisdom) helps us to build on what is in the making, and help us get in touch with ourselves.
Rating Rating: 4. 7 stars I gave this book a rating of 4. 7 stars because, it had all the components of what makes a good book. It took me on an emotional journey, and made me feel many emotions while reading the book. It has a very deep meaning, touched base on social justice issues, and opens our eyes on similar injustice that has happened to the indigenous people in the past. It comes from truth and pain, that must be acknowledged by the world. The voices of indigenous people must be heard, and reconciliation must take place. Overall, I recommend this book to all ages, mostly to readers that are coming of age. I also think this book should be chosen as the top book in Turtle Island reports. Mainly because they can relate to the characters of the book, and can create change even if it is by spreading the word on how much injustice takes place.
