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Chapter Eleven
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Children of Blood and Bone, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Prejudice and Inequality
Duty to Family vs. Self
Faith and Tradition
Cycles of Violence
Summary
Analysis
Exhausted and scared, Zélie, Amari, and Tzain make camp for the night. In the dark, Zélie tentatively reaches out to Oya, the patron god of her magic. She’s still scared, but even thinking the gods might still be listening gives her comfort.
Although Zélie has many reasons to doubt the gods and turn away from her religion, she also sees that faith can be a source of courage. Zélie comes to the important realization that the gods can still exist and be a source of comfort even if there is much suffering and injustice in the world.
Active
Themes
When Zélie awakens, everything is wrong. Instead of being where she fell asleep, she’s alone in a field of reeds. She turns to see Inan. Confusingly, he demands that she release him from the dreamscape. He believes that she is attacking him with magic. But she knows it must be his own magic pulling them there.
Inan has been taught his whole life to fear magic and squash it. He has also been taught to see magic as inhuman and wicked. As a result, when Inan experiences magic—even his own magic—he assumes it is something hostile that someone else is using to attack him.
Active
Themes
Zélie notices a shock of white in Inan’s dark hair. She realizes he must be a Connector, a maji with power over mind, spirit, and dreams. But, he doesn’t have any idea. Thinking of all those Inan’s father has killed, Zélie begins to taunt him. Inan lunges forward and begins to strangle her.
Active
Themes
Zélie wakes up beside Nailah, where she fell asleep. Now that she knows the Inan’s secret, she fears he will hunt her down.
Active
Themes
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