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Chapter 18
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Hunting by Stars, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Community and Identity
Resistance, Survival, and Hope
Dehumanization and Trauma
Language, Memory, and Legacy
Colonial Dominance vs. Healing with Nature
Summary
Analysis
No kitchen workers will talk to Frenchie, so he tries to connect with the residents of the isolation ward, who whisper their names through the meal delivery slots. Greeting the prisoners by name feels like resistance, reminding them who they are. Frenchie makes his acquaintances covertly, with the knowledge that being discovered could ruin his chance of escape. On Frenchie’s eighth day of work, the isolated residents pass their napkins back with their trays, insisting he keep them. Bemused, Frenchie takes the napkins to his room, where he discovers letters written with spaghetti sauce. Many have written to family members, urging them to stay hidden.
The kitchen workers ignore Frenchie because they believe he is truly a traitor. With no way to contradict this assumption but still desiring connection, Frenchie befriends the ward residents. With Frenchie’s ability to resist limited by his goal to escape, even the smallest transgressions feel like rebellion. Speaking the residents’ names, for instance, feels powerful because it affirms their humanity (where the institute has denied it, treating them like animals) and reminds them of their identities, which may have eroded under torture. The residents’ letters—though an encouraging sign of trust—complicate matters, creating hard evidence that Frenchie is sympathetic to them.
Themes
Knowing the letters are dangerous, Frenchie considers flushing them down the toilet. He doesn’t want the responsibility. Still, he can’t imagine returning to work and feeling like he is making a difference just by saying their names. Recognizing an opportunity to enact real change, Frenchie uses Mitch’s pen to poke a hole in his mattress, where he hides the letters. Frenchie collects more missives over the following days, sensing his people’s words will always exist. His days take on a predictable routine. Twice a week he visits Agent Mellin to recount his time on the run. Mitch visits occasionally to praise his own experiences in the Program.
Frenchie’s dilemma with the prisoners’ letters highlights how standing up for justice and community inherently involves risk. In other words, true resistance of oppressive systems requires people to sacrifice something—in this case, Frenchie sacrifices his personal safety by engaging in activities that will result in punishment if discovered. That he accepts such risk to himself speaks to his personal integrity and devotion to the Indigenous community at large. Language, as a way of preserving his people’s memories and legacies, seems particularly important to preserve. In the meantime, Frenchie keeps up his pretense of sincerity in front of Agent Mellin.
Themes
One day, Frenchie’s routine is broken by Watchmen performing a random search of his room. Frenchie tries to behave neutrally, but he gets reprimanded when he tries to enter his room. Waiting outside, Frenchie holds his breath, wondering if he’ll be kicked out of the Program or sent to isolation himself if they find the letters. The Watchmen finally finish their search, telling Frenchie to come with them: they have found his contraband. In the room, Frenchie sees the mattress flipped against a wall. Not knowing if he’s being taken to Agent Mellin or the Correction Room, Frenchie feels he’s gotten everyone in isolation caught as well as himself.
The Watchmen’s room checks show that the school strips its residents of their right to privacy (among many other things)—even those who have pledged loyalty to the Program. The mention of contraband suggests they have discovered Frenchie’s stash of letters, meaning his act of resistance has likely doomed him and many others to severe punishment.
Themes
