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Chapter 9
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The White Girl, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Colonial Violence
Dignity and Resilience
Loss
Love and Family
Power
Summary
Analysis
The next day, Sunday, Odette insists that Sissy accompany her to the cemetery, where she shows Sissy the graves of her ancestors. She answers Sissy’s occasional questions, too. The headstone for Odette’s mother doesn’t have a birthdate because she was born before their people were forced to follow the White people’s calendar. She died giving birth, but also from the grief of being forced onto the mission.
Odette is saying goodbye to her ancestors. Protecting Sissy requires notable sacrifices on her part. Observe how Lowe is successfully breaking Odette’s connection with her family one way or the other—either she loses Sissy or she loses her ability to visit and remain physically connected with the memorials of her parents and other ancestors. And Odette’s mother’s story, even in its briefest form, also testifies to the violence inflicted on Aboriginal communities and individuals.
Active
Themes
Then, Odette leads Sissy to a stone bench and takes a deep breath. Odette’s father, Ruben, taught her to value honesty above almost all else, and she’s raised Sissy the same way. But now, as she carefully explains, she and her granddaughter need to tell a lie in order to keep Sissy safe.
Odette learned how to live a good life under oppressive circumstances from her father. She’s passing on those traditions and values to Sissy, too. But desperate times call for desperate measures. Note that readers don’t get to hear the plan yet, although based on the clues offered in the last chapter, they can guess that it involves leaving Deane and passing Sissy as White.
Active
Themes
After the cemetery, Odette and Sissy stop by the junkyard, where they find Henry digging a grave for Rowdy, who died after eating poison- and glass-laced meat that someone threw over the fence. Neither he nor Odette doubt that Aaron was that someone. Henry says that the Kanes all have “bad blood” and need to be stopped. Thinking of George—and Sissy—Odette says that not all of them are bad, and she urges Henry to be cautious yet again. Then, she asks if he will drive her and Sissy to the train station the following morning. She says he needs to keep it secret, even if Seargeant Lowe starts asking questions. Henry considers carefully before agreeing.
Active
Themes
The next morning, Odette helps Sissy put on her traveling outfit, a pair of black shoes and a lacy white dress. She rouges Sissy’s cheeks just a bit, like White women do, to complete the look. Sissy doesn’t like leaving without saying goodbye to Millie, but Odette insists they must. Although she trusts Millie to keep her secret, she doesn’t want to burden her friend with having to lie to Sergeant Lowe. Henry drives too slowly for Odette’s anxiety, but they make it to the train station in time. Odette bids him a fond and likely final farewell.
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