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Chapter 13
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
August drives into town, past the rest area where she and others looked for Jedda after her disappearance. She blames whoever took her sister as well as herself. August tries to calm herself by thinking of her favorite books back in England. Locusts hit her windshield, resurrecting another memory of her and Jedda tracing the insects’ path along the river. In Vegemite Valley, August pauses outside Aunt Mary’s house. Another house bears a sign reading “FUCK OFF RINEPALM.” Two men across the street watch August until she leaves. On High Street, new and old constructions have merged. She thinks of visiting Jolene in prison but decides against it. A council worker trims grass around a bronze statue of a soldier.
Everything in Australia reminds August of Jedda, showing how heavily her sister’s disappearance still weighs on her. That she blames herself suggests August knows more about the disappearance than she has revealed to the reader. The anti-Rinepalm sign shows that not everyone supports the mine’s construction, though it seems like most dissidents are marginalized and therefore have less power to affect change. The men eying August seem to view her as a suspicious outsider, amplifying the sense she doesn’t belong. Like with other uncomfortable matters, August forgoes a visit with her mother. The statue’s presence shows that European colonialism is still being celebrated rather than critiqued.
Active
Themes
August buys a toothbrush from the renovated pharmacy, which Eddie’s family owned before it burned down. She visits the Aboriginal Medical Centre and Land Council chambers where she used to spend time with other indigenous kids after school. The building has been gutted. An old classmate, Alena Dimitri, recognizes August on the street, though she hasn’t seen her since August ran away in eighth grade. Alena is recently married and pregnant. A schoolteacher, she tells August that Rinepalm sent her students activity packs filled with propaganda praising the mines for bringing jobs to the community. Alena will bring some by Prosperous House. She leaves and August spots a Rinepalm Mining truck driving slowly past.
It is telling that, while the White-owned pharmacy has been reconstructed, the building dedicated to programs for Aboriginal Australians has been left in a state of disrepair. It suggests that the community neglects its indigenous population’s needs when allocating resources to White-owned businesses. Though Alena is White, she seems to take August’s side with regards to the mining company occupying the Gondiwindis’ land. Alena disparages Rinepalm’s attempts to sway even the youngest citizens that economic growth is more important than displacing people from their homes. The mining truck’s presence feels ominous, as if August’s movements are being watched.
Active
Themes
On the drive back, August imagines staying here instead of returning to London next week. She finds Elsie packing photographs in the old preaching room at Prosperous. August helps, asking about a photo of Elsie and Albert from the Freedom Ride, in which bus riders traveled the country advocating for Aboriginal civil rights. Reluctantly, Elsie tells August about the hope she had back then. She and Albert met on the Freedom Ride, fell in love, and ultimately moved to the farm. Elsie doesn’t regret her life choices. She packs away a coolamon dish (which Poppy called a guluman) made by Aboriginal Australian women living in the middle of Australia. Many artifacts of this kind were lost in the war.
Active
Themes
Sensing August’s sadness, Elsie urges her not to victimize herself, Albert, or the Gondiwindi. Elsie believes the earth is the most significant victim now. Even so, she thinks there’s nothing they can do to stop Rinepalm from taking the land. Eddie and everyone else in town are looking forward to the jobs the mine will create. Recalling her days as a protestor, Elsie says it’s too late for them to make a difference. August disagrees: she wants to fight back. Elsie suggests she walk to the river. August decides to visit Eddie at Southerly House, feeling strangely invigorated.
Active
Themes
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