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
At school the next day, Dylan sits with Jared (who is still being followed by the ape men) at lunch, and Dylan complains about his parents being unhappy that he quit hockey. Jared assures them that they’ll get over it—at least he’s not torturing cats or holding up gas stations. Dylan gives Jared his sandwich and wonders what he should do with his life. When Jared suggests crocheting, Dylan grabs him in a headlock. Dylan asks where Sarah is, but Jared just shrugs the question off. Dylan leaves, and the ape men sniff around Jared’s food. Watching them, Jared worries that he’s really wrecked his brain.
Despite all of the evidence Jared has that magic has infiltrated his life (the dream in the basement, the ravens speaking to him, and the ape men following him), he still refuses to confront reality. And while Jared continues to think that he should no longer rely on drugs, in reality, he is still using drugs as an excuse to avoid confronting the reality of magic in his life.
Themes
When Jared gets back from school, his mom is burning sweet-grass and cedar in the house. Nana Sophia texts Jared with a picture of the room she set up for him—a sunlit room overlooking the ocean. It’s very nice, but Jared is anxious about going to stay there. Things are better between him and his mom now that she’s off meth, and the ape guys aren’t that bad—he thinks that maybe they’re just a reflection of his feelings. Jared and Nana Sophia say “I love you” and sign off.
The room that Nana Sophia prepares for Jared once again reflects the love in their relationship: Jared’s grandmother is providing a safe and comforting space, which reflects the comfort and safety in their relationship. By contrast, his mom destroyed Jared’s space in her house, an action that reinforces the volatility of their relationship. Still, Jared is hesitant to write his mom off completely, because he recognizes that her drug use influenced her behavior. Now that she is avoiding drugs and is actually confronting her reality rather than escaping from it, the problems between them have eased.
Themes
For dinner that night, Jared’s mom makes Cup-a-Soup, and they watch the news together. When he tells her that he’s going to see Sarah, his mom tells him to say hi to the freak for her. Jared reminds her that he doesn’t insult her boyfriends, but she parrots all the times he’s criticized her boyfriends for being crazy or addicts. In that moment, Jared remembers the nail gun, and he asks his mom if David ever got violent with her. Jared’s mom says that David wanted someone demure, and when she looks away, Jared knows that David abused her. Jared thanks his mom for saving him the night David broke his ribs.
This exchange illustrates why Jared’s relationship with his mom is so complex. Thanking her for saving him acknowledges that she uses her violence to protect Jared. But at the same time, his mom also brought additional violence into his life that she has to protect him from, and this blend of love and violence is deeply painful and confusing.
Themes
