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Chapter 7
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Dread Nation, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Legacy of Slavery
Racism and Trauma
Religion and Power
Friendship, Community, and Liberation
Systemic Oppression and Change
Summary
Analysis
In a letter to Momma, Jane writes that she regrets not saying a “proper goodbye” to Momma when she (Jane) left home years ago. Jane then says that she hopes that the lack of a goodbye isn’t the reason why Momma has stopped writing.
This passage reveals that despite the seemingly numerous letters Jane writes to Momma, Momma has not been responding, raising the question of why that is the case.
Themes
Jane then recalls how she left Rose Hill Plantation. She was 14 years old when truancy officers arrived. Momma told Auntie Aggie to hide Jane because Momma didn’t want the officers to take Jane away to one of the combat schools. When Jane was with Auntie Aggie, though, Aggie said that Jane needed to go out into the world and find her own destiny. Before Jane left, Aggie gave her a necklace affixed with a penny that would alert Jane whenever danger was nearby. Aggie then handed Jane over to the truancy officers.
Auntie Aggie’s comments to Jane before she left for the combat school once more point to the difficult and complicated relationship that Jane has with Momma. Though Momma understandably wanted to keep Jane from the danger associated with the combat schools, Auntie Aggie’s comments suggest that there was something stifling, or perhaps worse, about the way that Momma cared for Jane.
Themes
