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Zheegwon
An overweight nine-year-old boy in Frenchie's family. Slopper exists in a space between child and adult—he heard Story at age seven and is therefore aware of the danger in the world, but he still clearly wants to remain a child. He's happy to play with RiRi and excuse himself from hearing Story, and he's not yet allowed to hunt with the rifle. He thrives on small comforts and loves food. Slopper begins to come into himself after Minerva's death, when the Council puts him in charge of forming a youth council to passing along all the cultural knowledge that the resistance group collectively possesses.
Slopper Quotes in The Marrow Thieves
The The Marrow Thieves quotes below are all either spoken by Slopper or refer to Slopper. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Rogarou Comes Hunting Quotes
"But why? Aren't these supposed to make noise?" Slopper was confused. We'd been told over and over that silence was the only way to move out here, the only way to stay alive.
It was Chi-Boy who answered, out of character. "Sometimes you risk everything for a life worth living, even if you're not the one that'll be alive to live it."
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Kiiwen Quotes
We were desperate to craft more keys, to give shape to the kind of Indians who could not be robbed. It was hard, desperate work. We had to be careful we weren't making things up, half remembered, half dreamed. We felt inadequate. We felt hollow in places and at certain hours we didn't have names for in our languages.
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Slopper Character Timeline in The Marrow Thieves
The timeline below shows where the character Slopper appears in The Marrow Thieves. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Fire
...a braid. There are twelve-year-old twins, Tree and Zheegwon, who are covered in scars, and Slopper, a round nine-year-old. Wab is almost a woman at eighteen; she has a huge scar...
(full context)
Story: Part 1
...and smarter, and reasoning with her is getting harder. He tells RiRi that they let Slopper hear Story when he was seven, and it was devastating for him. Slopper stopped sleeping...
(full context)
...help them sleep. Frenchie hears a low whistle outside—the alarm—and leaps up. Everyone else but Slopper is around the fire. Miig motions to the east, and Frenchie knows that they'll have...
(full context)
Magic Words
...antlers and after they catch several rabbits, head back to camp. Frenchie joins Chi-Boy and Slopper in a joyful song, but Miig is unusually quiet. Frenchie joins him and asks what's...
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The Four Winds
...that they can't use the stone fireplace, but he suggests they light the huge candles. Slopper curiously runs his hands over some lumps covered in sheets, and he's delighted when Chi-Boy...
(full context)
...accompany Rose to her room. Frenchie listens as everyone settles in and as RiRi and Slopper race up and down the hallway.
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...and pulls her close. Frenchie tries to snuggle close to Rose but gives up when Slopper asks to crawl in on Frenchie's side.
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Back into the Woods
...several times, wondering if they'd stayed if Rose might've come to him again. RiRi and Slopper are angry and complain that Miig is making them move. Frenchie thinks that RiRi is...
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Around noon, Slopper smells cooking. Frenchie corrects him that it's just smoke, and Slopper is confused that there's...
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...before revealing herself. She was too afraid to trust them. Miig says that RiRi and Slopper had a parent each when they arrived, but their parents ended up in the schools.
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The Other Indians
...travel on, but Travis invites them to stay and share in their stew and bread. Slopper exclaims at the sight of food and Frenchie wonders if Miig saw Wab's reaction. He's...
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...down Lincoln. Travis assures Miig that Lincoln is talking about hiding and tries to get Slopper to agree that there are Indigenous people who look white. Slopper leans away. Travis continues...
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Rogarou Comes Hunting
...to hang from women's dresses at powwows—made from can lids and rolled into a hide. Slopper is confused; he knows they need to be quiet and confirms that the jingles are...
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Loss
Outside, Frenchie's family is around the fire. Slopper is already asleep. Tree and Zheegwon seem surprised and relieved that Frenchie chose to sleep...
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The Circle
The drumming starts. Many people, including Wab, Chi-Boy, and Slopper, start to dance in a circle, but Frenchie sits and stews jealously. The next dance...
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Kiiwen
...a youth council to pass on what they know to the youth, and they put Slopper in charge. He excels at this. Frenchie explains that they're desperate to create "the kind...
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