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Part 2, Chapter 13: Fig Tree
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Island of Missing Trees, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Generational Trauma
Nature and Interconnectedness
Love and Displacement
Solidarity, Tribalism, and Political Division
History and Silencing
Summary
Analysis
On the second day of the storm, Kostas, Meryem, and Ada watch the news, which relays the damage done by the storm. Meryem says the destruction seems like a sign of the apocalypse. Ada says it’s climate change. Comments continue to come in on the video of Ada screaming in class. But not all of those comments are negative. One woman recorded herself screaming in Iceland and captioned the video with #doyouhearmenow. Ada has noticed other people using the hashtag in response to her video. In the living room, Meryem tells Ada she has something to give her. She gives her a music box with butterflies engraved on the cover. “Your mom loved butterflies,” Meryem says. She explains that Defne left the music box behind when she left home after their mother found out about her relationship with Kostas.
At first, Ada thinks that screaming in front of her class will make her a pariah, especially after a video of the outburst is posted online. While some of the comments posted under the video ridicule Ada, other comments and videos are posted in support and solidarity. The butterflies on the music box Meryem gives to Ada symbolize the capacity to find love and beauty even in the worst circumstances, and the burgeoning hashtag (“doyouhearmenow”) functions similarly. The global movement that comes from that hashtag shows that is Ada not alone in her pain. The novel then argues that if people noticed their common experience and acted in solidarity, they would be able to better address the root causes of that pain.
Active
Themes
