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Chapter 10
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Yield, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Colonialism and Exploitation
The Power of Language and Cultural History
Family, Identity, and Belonging
Collective Trauma, Memory, and Guilt
Human Spirituality and the Natural World
Summary
Analysis
During August and Jedda’s childhood, Prosperous House was a flurry of activity. Albert tended the community while Elsie devoted herself to cooking food for everyone to share. To combat August’s inexplicably intense hunger, Elsie taught her and Jedda how to cook dishes from around the world. They frequently socialized with visitors and were well looked-after. Still, the girls faced cruelty at school and missed their parents—Mark died, and Jolene remained in prison. After a year in Massacre Plains, August turned nine and everything changed again. She began to see how things—nature, people, and the town—worked, and it frightened her. Already August knew she couldn’t stay here.
From August and Albert’s narratives, the reader can piece together the timeline of Prosperous House. Once Albert and Elsie take over, it becomes a haven for the surrounding community, providing services and community. August’s hunger persists despite the abundance at her grandparents’ house, suggesting she still doesn’t trust in her familial stability. At school, the girls are likely bullied for their Aboriginal Australian heritage and their parents’ trouble with the law. A year into her life at Prosperous, an unnamed event further traumatizes August to the extent that she questions everyone’s motives and already wants to flee.
Active
Themes
In the present, August wakes to the smells of her former home. Though comforted, she longs to return to the time before her body became strange to her. Elsie is still asleep. August drinks coffee outside, where she encounters Eddie Falstaff—heir of nearby Southerly House and her childhood sweetheart. Eddie’s family, who own the farm’s grain and cattle, is the second richest family in town. August remembers Mrs. Falstaff refusing to invite her to Eddie’s birthday party despite their friendship. Now, Eddie offers condolences for Albert and tells August her grandfather was writing a book before he died. He also points out Rinepalm mining company’s drill sites nearby, which have provoked protests.
August’s feelings about being back at Prosperous are contradictory—she finds comfort in familiarity but also dreads the painful memories the place evokes. Her interaction with Eddie elicits memories of the racial microaggressions she faced, even from people who supposedly cared about her family. The racial divide between August and Eddie is amplified by their different socioeconomic statuses. Despite this, Eddie seems sincerely sorry about Albert’s death and he puts Albert’s dictionary on August’s radar. The drill sites’ physical presence makes the impending loss of the farm a reality for August.
Active
Themes
August’s Aunt Missy and Great-Aunt Mary pull up to the house. Both women are shocked to see August, though they embrace her. August excuses herself while they brew coffee, intent on searching the attic room for Poppy Albert’s book. As a child, August devoured books from the mobile library. Now, she feels Albert was the only one who understood the reasons she left home. His attic desk is littered with books and random notes. Overwhelmed, August joins her aunts and Elsie downstairs. Missy and Mary ask her about England. Missy shares that her son Joey has created an app called Get ‘Em—a game where the player fights various colonizers. She remarks that Albert’s life was good, though hard.
August follows Aunt Mary to the vegetable garden, where she imagines herself and Jedda as children. Mary says Elsie needs to get rid of the produce before she moves out. She confirms what August has heard from Elsie and Eddie: the company is taking the land to mine tin. Eddie’s family’s government lease is expired, meaning the farm will be destroyed. Elsie, who doesn’t know where she’ll go, looks terribly sad. August feels guilty that she hasn’t been present to share her family’s grief. She excuses herself to go to town, bidding farewell to her aunts and grandmother.
Active
Themes
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