Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Dry, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Human Cost of Climate Change
Justice
Urban vs. Rural
Friendship
Summary
Analysis
Falk starts telling Sergeant Raco about when he and Luke were both 16. But just then, there’s a disturbance in the pub as Grant Dow (who is Ellie’s cousin), comes up to Falk. His uncle (and Ellie’s father), Mal Deacon, is there with him. They want to know why Falk is back in town. Deacon mistakes Falk for his father (Erik Falk). Dow asks Deacon to calm down but says that Falk brings trouble with him wherever he goes. Falk realizes that there’s no more running from his story.
Deacon’s confusion between Falk and his father suggests not only how Falk has aged since the last time he was in Kiewarra but also how the past connects back to the present. The potential violence in the pub shows how despite Falk and Raco’s official positions, that concept of justice might not matter out in Kiewarra if people like Dow and Deacon resort to physical force.
Themes
Falk begins his story. Twenty years ago, near Kiewarra, three hikers, including a group leader and a former investment banker, are walking along the Kiewarra River when they discover a dead girl’s body. The sight causes the investment banker to gag. The dead girl has red marks around her ear piercings, nostrils, and fingernails. One of the hikers runs to get help. The investigators eventually identify the woman as Ellie, who had been missing since last Friday night. When the police go to investigate Ellie’s room, they find a note in Ellie’s handwriting with just one word—“Falk”—and a date on it.
As with the Hadler family, the first people to discover Ellie’s body are strangers who didn’t know her. This hints at how from an outsider’s perspective, a murder victim might seem like just another statistic, but this novel resists this objective coldness by showing what type of people the Hadlers and Ellie were. The note with “Falk” on it that Ellie left behind seems to be the reason that many people in town believe that Falk committed the murder. Notably, the note could refer to either Falk or his father, Erik Falk.
Themes
Rumors begin to spread about Falk’s possible involvement in Ellie’s death. The 16-year-old Falk promises Luke that he was fishing up the river when Ellie disappeared. But Luke tells Falk that no one will believe him. Instead, Luke suggests that they tell the police that he and Falk were both out shooting rabbits together. Falk agrees that was a good idea. Falk’s story ends here, and the action returns to the present.
On the one hand, Luke makes a smart observation by noting that in Kiewarra, sometimes it’s better to tell something that sounds plausible rather than telling the real truth. Still, Luke’s suggestion is also suspicious and raises questions about whether he has some ulterior motive for trying to help Falk with his alibi.
Themes
In the pub, after Falk finishes his story, Dow and Deacon continue to make trouble, implying that Falk played some role in Ellie’s death, so the bartender (McMurdo) warns them they’ll get kicked out if they keep at it. Falk says Luke was his friend. Falk also says he himself had nothing to do with Ellie, although he soon regrets speaking up. Dow brings up the note with “Falk” written in Ellie’s handwriting, and Falk can’t explain it.
Although Falk sometimes conceals his thoughts and feelings, his confusion about Ellie’s note with “Falk” on it seems genuine. It’s noteworthy that the bartender in the story seems to have more authority with the locals than the actual police. This suggests not only how traditional institutions can be less powerful in remote locations but also how pubs serve an important function in the community, bringing people together.
Themes
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