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Chapter 7
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Every Falling Star, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Dictatorship and Indoctrination
Belief and Hope
Family
Law and Morality
Economic Inequality
Summary
Analysis
During Sungju’s summer vacation, he starts to go hungry. Eventually, his parents admit that they now only show up to their factory jobs for political events like “self-criticism,” not to work—they have no incentive to work because there is no food. Instead of working, they forage in the forest. Sungju says that he wants to help forage rather than go to school. The following morning, he walks toward the market with his textbooks and sees Chulho by the road. They talk. Chulho reveals that he’s homeless: his parents went looking for food and disappeared. In return, Sungju reveals that he’s going to sell his textbooks.
Sungju’s parents still go to the factory to engage in mandatory political “self-criticism” even though they have stopped actually working due to the lack of food and money. This ironic situation shows that under dictatorship, people’s superficial political conformity matters more than what they really contribute to society. Meanwhile, Sungju’s insistence on helping his parents hints at how family can be an aid to survival in difficult circumstances under dictatorship. Finally, Chulho and Sungju are able to bond—despite Chulho’s initial hostility—over their shared economic desperation, a turning point in their relationship.
Active
Themes
Sungju and Chulho’s classmate Min-gook sees them and shares bread with them. When Sungju asks how Min-gook afforded food, Min-gook explains that he just sold his mother’s kitchenware—but he stole some food, too. Sungju, aghast, asks whether he isn’t afraid of the law. Chulho explains that everyone steals now: “what else are we supposed to do?” Sungju announces he’s dropping out of school. Chulho, who has also dropped out, says they should try not to waste the remainder of their lives. When Sungju suggests that they won’t die anytime soon, Chulho flatly informs him that Gyeong-seong children die all the time—including Chulho’s little brother, who died last week.
Despite Sungju’s growing disillusionment with North Korea’s political situation, he is still reflexively law-abiding. This reflex may spring partly from his early indoctrination in obedience and partly from a new fear of the government created by the executions he witnessed. Regardless, Chulho’s rhetorical question (“What else are we supposed to do?”) implies it’s silly for Sungju to be afraid that the government will execute you for stealing food if refraining from stealing means you’ll starve. In the same vein, Sungju refuses to believe that children will die in Gyeong-seong even though people are clearly starving, a refusal that shows his residual belief in the North Korean regime.
Active
Themes
Sungju begins hunting and foraging with his parents. One night, Sungju and his father camp in the forest. Sungju’s father tells him about a goddess local to Jeju Island, Chilseong. Chilseong and her children, identified with the stars in Ursa Major, shield Koreans “from misfortune and pain.” Chilseong, a mother goddess, shields children in particular. Sungju’s father advises him to petition Chilseong for help when he needs it. When Sungju asks about North Korean beliefs, his father says that rural people believe in benevolent spirits called “shan-shin-ryong-nim,” as well as in malevolent ghosts, “yu-reong.” When Sungju asks what people in Pyongyang believe, his father rather awkwardly replies that they only believe in Kim Il-sung and his successor, Kim Jong-il. Sungju wishes he knew more about his father’s own beliefs.
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Themes
