Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Elatsoe, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Family and Friendship
Justice
Cultural Identity and Coming of Age
Colonialism and Monsters
Death, Grief, and Healing
Storytelling
Summary
Analysis
The coroner declares Trevor’s death an accident and doesn’t open an investigation. Elders and close family bury Trevor in a secret place, and then Ellie’s parents host a public wake at a park. The attendees are mostly children, whom Ellie watches from under a tree. She sees a brand-new Mercedes pull into the lot, and Abe Allerton steps out. Ellie storms toward the lot, figuring that Abe won’t do anything in public but reasoning that he’s capable of anything. She reminds herself that Kirby could howl, if need be, or Ellie could summon Grandma’s mammoth and get it to crush the Mercedes.
Especially since the coroner declares Trevor’s death an accident (which suggests to Ellie that the authorities are not on her family’s side), it becomes even more important to her to take stock of the various weapons and sources of assistance she has at her disposal. In this context, that includes Kirby and her grandmother’s mammoth.
Themes
Reminding herself to act normal, Ellie approaches Abe and says that the wake is private. Abe explains that he’s here to pay his respects to Trevor, who taught his son. He calls Trevor’s death a “tragedy” and tries to hug Ellie, though Ellie jerks away. Then, Abe asks where the burial site is, insisting that Brett wants to visit it when he gets back from summer camp. Ellie explains that this must be kept secret and, when Abe points to the shimmer next to Ellie and asks what it is, Ellie asks Kirby to appear. This shocks Abe, and he laughs knowingly but politely when Ellie says that summoning ghosts is an “[o]ld family secret.” As she walks away, Ellie asks if Abe is selling his old car, but he brushes her off.
In his first appearance in person, Abe Allerton broadcasts the image of himself as kind, compassionate, and wealthy—in other words, he aligns exactly with what Jay’s internet research turned up. But Ellie knows she’s actually dealing with a monster of sorts, and so she’s on the lookout for anything fishy. Asking for the location of Trevor’s grave is one of those fishy things, as it suggests that Allerton would like to disturb the grave—which could possibly bring Trevor’s ghost back.
Themes
Dad approaches Ellie, and she tells him that Abe asked for the burial site. Like Ellie, he doesn’t believe Abe’s story. So, he approaches Abe and Ellie watches Abe get into his car and speed away—he clearly doesn’t care about speeding tickets.
Abe flaunts his privilege when he races out of the parking lot. As Ellie notes, he doesn’t care about a speeding ticket, either because he knows he won’t get one (since he’s friendly with police) or because paying a fine wouldn’t be a problem.
Themes
