The Marrow Thieves

by

Cherie Dimaline

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Zheegwon Character Analysis

One of the twelve-year-old twins in Miig and Frenchie's family. He and his twin Tree are extremely close, to the point that they're essentially the same person in terms of behavior and speech. Zheegwon is quiet and levelheaded. He and Tree were captured and tortured by people who wanted to extract their marrow but didn't have the tools or skills to do so. Both boys are covered in scars and are missing their pinky fingers. They comfort each other by passing a single baseball cap back and forth, touching each other, and reassuring each other that things will be okay.
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Zheegwon Character Timeline in The Marrow Thieves

The timeline below shows where the character Zheegwon appears in The Marrow Thieves. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Fire
Cyclical Histories, Language, and Indigenous Oppression Theme Icon
Trauma, Identity, and Pride Theme Icon
...Métis, and wears his long hair in 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... (full context)
Magic Words
Family and Coming of Age Theme Icon
...Mitch yells angrily for Frenchie to hang on. Frenchie wakes up drenched in sweat when Zheegwon pokes him. Miig says they need to leave and move quickly, so others carry Minerva... (full context)
Haunted in the Bush
Cyclical Histories, Language, and Indigenous Oppression Theme Icon
Humans and Nature Theme Icon
Trauma, Identity, and Pride Theme Icon
...to not need watches, but now, nobody knows how to tell time by the sky. Zheegwon and Tree open cans of condensed milk and Minerva stashes the lids in her bag.... (full context)
The Four Winds
Family and Coming of Age Theme Icon
...sitting in a chair and waves to Frenchie. He looks around and sees Tree and Zheegwon lying perpendicular across the bottom of the bed, Wab and Chi-Boy sleeping close to each... (full context)
Back into the Woods
Trauma, Identity, and Pride Theme Icon
...with the damp rains. Frenchie knows there's no time to get sick, and he remembers Zheegwon telling him earlier in the year that illness makes Minerva nervous: she lost a baby... (full context)
Cyclical Histories, Language, and Indigenous Oppression Theme Icon
Trauma, Identity, and Pride Theme Icon
Frenchie asks Miig to stop, but Miig continues. He says that Tree and Zheegwon were captured by a small town, whose residents tried brutally to extract their dreams. Miig... (full context)
The Potential of Change
Humans and Nature Theme Icon
Trauma, Identity, and Pride Theme Icon
...men that Wab saw, and he sends Chi-Boy out to patrol and asks Tree and Zheegwon to set more alarm wires. Frenchie climbs a tree, hoping that the lunchbox belonged to... (full context)
Cyclical Histories, Language, and Indigenous Oppression Theme Icon
Family and Coming of Age Theme Icon
...are the men she saw a few weeks ago, and Tree suggests that they're "townies." Zheegwon's face goes pale, and Tree puts his cap on Zheegwon's head to make him feel... (full context)
Family and Coming of Age Theme Icon
Trauma, Identity, and Pride Theme Icon
...head in the direction of the men. Frenchie can't shake a story that Tree and Zheegwon told a few weeks ago about the wiindigo people, who are cannibals. Rose startles him... (full context)
The Way It All Changed
Cyclical Histories, Language, and Indigenous Oppression Theme Icon
Trauma, Identity, and Pride Theme Icon
...scream, pushes the body off of his tent, and unzips it. Travis has Tree and Zheegwon at gunpoint, Chi-Boy has a knife in his arm, and Miig is standing, his gun... (full context)
Cyclical Histories, Language, and Indigenous Oppression Theme Icon
Family and Coming of Age Theme Icon
Trauma, Identity, and Pride Theme Icon
...Travis, and Lincoln grabs RiRi and starts to run. Miig and Wab chase Lincoln while Zheegwon and Tree tie up Travis. When Travis is secure, Frenchie follows the others into the... (full context)
Rogarou Comes Hunting
Family and Coming of Age Theme Icon
The barn is entirely empty. Zheegwon scampers up a ladder to a loft and announces that it's full of hay. Miig... (full context)
Loss
Family and Coming of Age Theme Icon
Humans and Nature Theme Icon
Trauma, Identity, and Pride Theme Icon
Outside, Frenchie's family is around the fire. Slopper is already asleep. Tree and Zheegwon seem surprised and relieved that Frenchie chose to sleep with them, not with Dad, and... (full context)
Lost and Found and Lost
Cyclical Histories, Language, and Indigenous Oppression Theme Icon
Trauma, Identity, and Pride Theme Icon
...driver. A Recruiter steps out of the van with his hands up and Tree and Zheegwon tie him up. The twins whoop in celebration and everyone meets at the van. The... (full context)
Locks Mean Nothing to Ghosts
Family and Coming of Age Theme Icon
Trauma, Identity, and Pride Theme Icon
...now. He feels it can't last. On the way to the newcomers' camp, Tree and Zheegwon say that they hope they find an Elder who can help them fight the schools.... (full context)