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
Despite Jared’s protests that he’s okay, Nana Sophia insists on flying in that afternoon. Jared is worried about the otters, but he’s even more worried that Nana Sophia will bring up his plan to stay with her for the summer. He desperately wants to drink so that he doesn’t have to think about any of this, but he knows there’s no way to stop what’s happening.
Just as Jared is trying to avoid the problem with the river otters and convince Nana Sophia that he’s fine, he also wants to avoid the problem of telling his mother that he’s going to Nana Sophia’s. As a result, he once again resorts to drinking alcohol as a means of escapism. Still, he is starting to recognize that avoiding his problems doesn’t help him—it’s more effective to confront issues head on.
Themes
Jared gets dressed, straps on his gun, and goes upstairs. He tells his mom that Nana Sophia is coming, and she immediately gets angry, asking why he’s talking to Sophia. Jared admits that it’s kind of nuts, but that he asked Nana about river otters and she booked a plane. Jared’s mom immediately freaks out and asks him what happened, and he’s stunned that she’s reacting this way. Jared’s mom slaps him and asks if he saw someone he loved. He confirms that he saw Baby and Sarah, and Jared’s mom curses.
Again, Jared starts to realize the negative consequences of ignoring the magical beings in his life, as even his mom (who is normally very tough and emotionless) starts to worry about the river otters threatening him. This further reinforces the idea that the best way to handle one’s problems is to confront them, not to write them off—like Jared did for so long in attributing the visions to his drug use.
Themes
Jared’s mom says that the river otters are targeting Jared because he’s having sex with a witch, and Jared asks his mom not to call Sarah names. Jared’s mom explains that Sarah isn’t stable magically, but Jared says that witches aren’t real. Jared’s mom then reveals that Sarah is a witch, Mrs. Jaks is a witch, and she’s a witch herself. Jared is stunned, thinking that she must be insane, too. Believing in witches means a total shift in his understanding of the world.
Jared expands on one of the reasons why confronting the problems in his life is so difficult: it requires a complete shift in his understanding of the world. But avoiding this change has only placed Jared in great danger with the otters who are trying to kill him, suggesting that even when it’s difficult to accept reality, doing so is necessary to avoid even worse consequences.
Themes
Jared’s mom also explains that Nana Sophia is a Halayt—a high chief medicine woman who deals with cannibals and ogres. When Jared is amazed at this information, Jared’s mom pours vodka into her coffee and some for Jared as well, stunned at his ignorance. Jared asks why his mom didn’t tell him, and his mom says that she tried to teach him protection spells when he was five, but he refused to listen. Jared asks if he’s a witch, but his mom says that he has no ability whatsoever. Jared takes several swigs before asking if his dad is a witch, but Jared’s mom doesn’t answer.
Even as Jared and his mother realize that they have to deal with the river otters directly, they still use alcohol to cope with what is happening. This underscores the fact that they still haven’t fully acknowledged that substance abuse doesn’t solve problems—it only helps people avoid those problems.
Themes
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In the silence, the ape guys crawl through the floors, and Jared’s mom waves her hands, causing the men to evaporate. Jared is amazed, and his mom is surprised that Jared can see them, because he never has before. She says that she doesn’t want to know where he and Sarah picked them up. Opening an ammo locker in her closet with shells and feathers, Jared’s mom instructs him to get the emergency candles in the kitchen pantry. Just then, the landline rings, and Jared sees that it’s the Jakses. He picks up and Sarah is crying, saying that Mrs. Jaks is on the floor and not breathing. Jared yells at Sarah to call 911 and runs out the door with no shoes. But as he goes around the corner, someone hits him in the head.
Jared’s mom’s actions illustrate how unnecessary and ineffective it was for Jared to avoid his problems, as she easily makes the ape men disappear and sets out to protect him from the river otters. This suggests that if Jared had been more willing to accept magic and the danger that he was in, he might have been able to handle it earlier and avoid some of the problems that he is now encountering. Again, this reinforces the importance of facing one’s problems in order to regain control of one’s life.
Themes
