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
Glorian counts down from 10. Unwilling to call Kirby or wild animal ghosts, Ellie decides to take a chance. She calls Grandma’s mammoth and commands her to charge—and the mammoth slams into Glorian, knocking him over but not killing him. Jay and Ellie slip through a door, descend some stairs, and find themselves in a dark room. Summoning a dim will-o’-the-wisp, Jay illuminates a sterile room with rows of silver coffins on the ground. Ellie finds the light and Kirby appears, yapping at one coffin. Deducing that Al is inside, they unscrew the lid and work together to push the heavy lid off. They can hear Glorian pounding outside the door and taunting them. Ellie considers calling her ancestors’ dogs, as Six-Great trained her dogs “for war” and Kirby is harmless. But she’s too afraid. Al croaks that he’s hungry as the room’s doors burst open.
Ellie’s connections to her family members save her here, as her grandmother has taught her the skills necessary to call and command the mammoth. But Ellie isn’t ready or willing yet to rely on deceased family members yet, as she’s not comfortable calling Six-Great’s dogs to come and help her. She’s unwilling to do this in part because she realizes she’s young and doesn’t fully understand the implications. This is itself a pretty mature position, and it highlights Ellie’s maturity and her measured approach to such important matters.
Themes
