Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Messenger, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Selfishness vs. the Collective Good
Youth, Memory, and the Future
Humans and Nature
Identity and Difference
Summary
Analysis
At first, Matty feels only a small sensation of the power in the tips of his fingers. He feels his blood start to warm and feels as though he can see every cell in his body. With a gasp, he calls for his gift and scrabbles at the ground. Matty knows he's been chosen for this. Kira starts to breathe and falls asleep, while Leader discovers that the vine is no longer attacking him. A breeze blows through Village and Ramon sits up, his fever gone. Seer feels the breeze and then touches the tapestry. He finds that the stitches are now even and smooth. Matty groans, presses harder into the soil, and feels his blood and breath become part of the earth. He floats up and watches his body give itself to the people and the places he loves. He feels free.
Matty's sacrifice is the ultimate act to serve the common good, as he's literally giving his body and his life to help the people and the place that he loves. In this way, Matty will become an example to others in Village of how one should aspire to behave in a selfless, community-oriented manner. Further, with what Matty is doing, he's able to heal Ramon and others he previously thought about healing, in addition to Forest and Village. This suggests that sometimes the best way to help individuals is to help fix larger broken systems.
Themes
Leader begins to walk forward, feeling the sores on his face disappear. The path reappears, dappled with sunlight. Matty feels as though he can hear and see everything. He sees Jean call to Mentor, who is once again stooped and holding a book. Matty hears him recite a poem and watches those building the wall walk away. He hears the newcomers singing in their own languages, but he sees that they all understand each other. He also understands now that Forest itself is an illusion: it was a reflection of fear, lies, and power grabs, but now, it's blooming. Matty sighs, lets go of life, and watches Leader find Kira.
Now that Matty is in the process of giving himself to Forest, he can understand that Forest wasn't malevolent of its own accord—it was only reflecting back on others what was happening in Village with trading and the wall. With this, the novel encourages readers to look in unexpected places for the effects of selfishness and negative individualism—it will reflect back in surprising ways.
Themes
Kira wets a cloth and with a sob, bathes Matty's arms. They're unblemished now. She tells Leader about Matty's dirty, mischievous face when he was a boy. Leader says that Matty wasn't his true name, and Kira tells Leader that Matty wanted to become Messenger at the end of this journey. Leader says that that wasn't Matty's true name either. He tells Matty that his true name is Healer. Frolic startles Leader and Kira as he crawls out of the bushes and greets Kira. Leader picks up Matty's body to carry him home, listening to the keening that's starting in the distance.
Giving Matty the name Healer shows that Matty did truly come of age during his journey through Forest. The fact that his true name isn't what he expected it to be also shows that one's identity is as much a community effort as an individual one. Matty can only receive this name because this is the most important thing he could do for Village and his friends, and with this name, he'll be remembered and be able to inspire others to behave similarly.
Themes
