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Chapter 1
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
When Albert Gondiwindi was young, he, his mother, and his unborn sister (Great-Aunt Mary) were led by police to a Christian Mission in Prosperous alongside the Murrumby River. By then, the water was stained red. On the day of his death, Albert wonders what the river was like when it ran clear before everything changed. He sits before a stack of pages—his unfinished dictionary. Feeling a breeze from the river, he holds the papers in place. Then, the wind and “the ancestors” seem to encourage him to let go. Albert leans back and watches the pages swirl in the air.
Albert’s family was clearly impoverished during his childhood, resulting in their transfer to the Mission. That they were led there by police implies this relocation was forced rather than chosen freely, hinting at as-yet unexplored power dynamics. Over time, the river has become polluted. Albert imagines it running clear, demonstrating a felt connection to the land and a longing for better times. His reference to ancestors suggests the Gondiwindi family has lived on this land for generations. Now, these ancestors encourage Albert to spiritually release whatever tethers him to life, leaving his words behind.
Active
Themes
On the other side of the world, August receives a phone call and learns her grandfather—Poppy Albert—is dead. On the cusp of 30 years old, August feels trapped and directionless in her life. She has lived far from Poppy Albert for a decade, but she now feels she has lost some part of herself. After the call, August reads the newspaper, which declares the black rhino is extinct. Few people here know about her life back home, where she was only aware of her family’s poverty at lunchtime. Before her grandparents packed her leftovers, her mother’s lunches drew mockery from other kids. Once, she packed August plastic play food.
Where Albert is deeply connected to his country, August is initially characterized by her distance from both her grandfather and the land. Despite this, Albert’s death hits August hard, suggesting some unresolved family affair. The mention of the black rhino, though brief, once again brings to mind environmental issues and conservation. August’s reluctance to share information about her past implies trauma or shame, particularly related to her family’s hunger and poverty.
Active
Themes
Like the black rhino, Poppy Albert is now extinct. He used to say, “the land needed to burn more,” though he was talking about their homeland, not the place she lives now. Knowing she must return home despite the shame of leaving it, August books a flight, wondering if everything she hasn’t found where she currently lives will be waiting for her. On the flight, as she crosses into a different time zone, she thinks of memory and erasure. August sleeps and dreams of Poppy Albert telling her there is something gained by remembering one’s history but also something lost. He urges her to be careful.
