Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Son of a Trickster, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Dysfunctional Families, Responsibility, and Maturity
Love vs. Violence
Escapism and Confronting Problems
The Environment and Human Destruction
Summary
Analysis
Jared spends the next morning scrubbing the basement, concerned by a fuzzy memory of almost making out with Destiny. He gets more ranting messages from Ebony, and he’s glad that his dad is back on his feet so that he doesn’t have to bake more marijuana cookies for Ebony. He’s frustrated that she’s blaming him for Dylan acting like a jerk.
Here, the book again recognizes the problems with using alcohol as a coping mechanism or an escape from reality. Drinking nearly caused Jared even greater problems rather than allowing him to escape from his issues, as it lowered his inhibitions to the point that he nearly had sex with his stepsister.
Themes
Because Jared’s couch still smells like dog fur, Jared dreamed about Baby Killer the previous night, which makes him feel lonely. He decides to go to the store to get something that will get the smell out, checking in with his mom and Richie to see if they need anything—but Richie is just annoyed that Jared is talking to them while they’re still in bed.
The fact that Jared still feels lonely without Baby Killer underscores how much he misses having her unconditional love in his life. His mom and Richie, however, don’t show any of that affection, even as Jared tries to take care of them and bring them what they need. By contrasting these two dynamics, the book emphasizes the value of relationships that are characterized by warmth and unconditional love, as opposed to those that are fraught with selfishness and neglect.
Themes
Jared’s head throbs as he leaves the house, and he decides to check in on Mrs. Jaks. A pretty girl with dark hair, wearing Princess Leia buns and a white bathrobe, opens the door. When Jared introduces himself and asks if Mrs. Jaks is okay, the girl says that her grandmother’s in a mood—the meat freezer broke down while Mrs. Jaks was getting chemotherapy, and it’s stinking up the house. The girl asks if he can help clear it out, and Jared replies that when he gets back from the store, he can take the rotten meat to the dump.
Jared continues to demonstrate his responsibility in consistently checking up on the Jakses. In addition, the fact that Jared first meets this girl while she is wearing a Princess Leia costume establishes an immediate connection between them, because Jared’s Darth Vader poster has hinted that Jared is a fan of Star Wars.
Themes
Just then, Mrs. Jaks calls to Sarah—the girl—to close the door and stop letting the cold in. Jared says goodbye, and as he leaves, he wishes that he had scrubbed himself instead of the basement. His inner voice tells him that Sarah probably wouldn’t notice Jared’s body odor because of the rotting meat smell, and the voice teases him, calling him Romeo. Jared is surprised by his inner voice, wondering if he’s going crazy and hearing someone else’s voice in his head.
The inner voice calls Jared Romeo—a reference to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet—to imply Jared’s romantic interest, foreshadowing that Jared’s relationship with Sarah will likely develop into something more than friendship. But Jared again dismisses his inner voice as evidence that he is crazy, and he tries to put it out of his mind. This is another way that Jared is avoiding his problems, as he ignores an issue that legitimately worries him.
Themes
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The next day, Jared wakes up naked next to Sarah under his sleeping bag. He tries to remember how they got there: they spent a few hours cleaning out Mrs. Jaks’s freezer, and then Jared went to a party and did several rounds of Jell-O shots—but he doesn’t remember Sarah being there. Sarah is scrolling through his iTouch, commenting that he was really comfortable putting on a condom when he was drunk before making fun of the Nickelback on his playlist. Jared gets up to throw up in the garbage can. His inner voice calls him classy, and he tells the voice to shut up. Sarah says that she has to stop doing ecstasy—she doesn’t want anyone to know that she hooked up with someone who likes Nickelback.
This passage illustrates the multitude of ways that Jared is avoiding confronting his problems, and the negative ramifications of doing so. Jared again got so drunk that he doesn’t remember what happened the previous night, and as a result, he also had sex with someone without remembering that he did so, which could have very serious consequences (like STDs or unintended pregnancy). In addition, Jared continues to try and ignore his inner voice, despite the fact that its presence in his life seems to be ever-increasing.
Themes
After hunting down her clothes, Sarah leaves, but Jared stays in bed all day. He then cleans up the vomit in his trash can and throws his laundry in the wash. When he’s taking out the garbage, he sees Sarah on his front porch. Sarah tells him that Mrs. Jaks invited him for dinner, and when Jared asks if it’s okay for him to come over given the fact that they slept together, Sarah insists that she can handle it. They trade barbs about their taste in music, and Jared says that he’ll be over shortly. Sarah cautions Jared not to mention Mr. Jaks at dinner, as Mrs. Jaks feels guilty about keeping him in respite care even though she’s home. Jared shakes his head as he watches Sarah walk away.
Jared continues to deal with the ramifications of using alcohol to dull reality: the next day, he doesn’t get to enjoy the day and has to deal with getting sick. Separately, Sarah’s warning about mentioning Mr. Jaks illustrates that she, too, has had to grow up with greater awareness and maturity than her peers. It’s unclear what Sarah’s home life was like before she came to live with grandparents—but given that her mom sent her away, it’s likely that she has a troubled home life, much like Jared does. And now, she must shoulder the burden of caring for two sick grandparents by herself.
Themes
At dinner, Mrs. Jaks is wearing makeup, though it doesn’t hide her sallow skin from the chemotherapy. Sarah and Jared set the table and serve dinner for her, and when Mrs. Jaks tells Sarah how to set the table, Sarah says that she shouldn’t be so hung up on bourgeois rituals and that she should “decolonize.” Jared can tell that they’ve had this argument many times. The three of them eat together and then watch Wheel of Fortune after dinner. Mrs. Jaks starts crying, and Sarah holds her grandmother’s hand while Jared does the dishes. When Mrs. Jaks goes to bed, Sarah comes into the kitchen and hugs Jared, telling him that she feels awful.
Sarah demonstrates how her own family problems are taking a toll on her and forcing her to grow up: she has to comfort her very ill grandmother while her grandfather is stuck in respite care. This again speaks to the idea that children with difficult home lives are often forced to take on greater responsibility and develop greater maturity than other kids their age might be. In addition, Sarah’s reference to “decolonizing” refers to overcoming customs and rules that were brought about by Europeans’ colonization of Canada, indicating that she’s interested in connecting more to her Indigenous culture.
Themes
