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Chapter 28
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
After packing some things in Prosperous House, August visits Eddie at Southerly. She wants to discuss her hope of saving the farm, despite the mines’ gradual encroachment. Eddie is packing too. He offers her a beer and asks, if August believes in animism, where she thinks Poppy Albert is now. August believes in an afterlife but not heaven. Eddie blames religion for causing wars, but August argues that humans will always find something to fight about. She asks after Eddie’s mom. Mrs. Falstaff is alive but sick. She is tired of farm life, according to Eddie. August recalls Mrs. Falstaff driving Eddie’s father away after discovering his infidelity, though Eddie says they reunited in later years.
While August hopes Eddie will be her ally in the fight against Rinepalm, he still seems resigned to the mines forcing them off the land. Their discussion of religion reveals a surprising bitterness in Eddie, suggesting he may be sympathetic in this regard, at least. Perhaps because August is learning to see the connections between humans and nature, she doesn’t blame spirituality for humanity’s flaws. Eddie’s family harbors its own share of trauma, though he—unlike August—seems to be dealing with it alone.
Active
Themes
Eddie asks if August really expected Jolene to show up for Albert’s funeral. August has realized that prison must be more of a home to Jolene now than anywhere else. She thinks her mother is unable to imagine leaving her cage. Eddie holds her then goes to get more beer. Wanting to feel numb, August kisses Eddie and they make their way to his bedroom. August tries to relax into the pleasure, but when Eddie bites her wrist, it triggers a memory. August had bitten herself but told Elsie it was Jedda, who punished both girls. In the present, August pushes Eddie away.
The timing of Eddie’s question about Jolene suggests he’s trying to divert August’s attention from his family drama back to her own. Having spent so long being oppressed, August believes Jolene is unable to hope for any other kind of life. This assessment can arguably apply to August, who—overwhelmed by their conversation—tries to retreat into numbness by having sex with Eddie. But guilty memories of Jedda stop her and force her to confront the lingering trauma.
Active
Themes
Part of August wants to stay with Eddie and find a way to stop the mines. She confesses she doesn’t know who she is without Prosperous waiting for her, no matter how far away she runs. Eddie becomes angry, shouting that he wishes he had run away. The truth is he wants to get rid of the farm, calling Prosperous a “slave yard.” Eddie claims that the Falstaffs saved the Gondiwindis by allowing them to live there. He retrieves a box of letters he discovered in Southerly, thanking his father for donating Aboriginal artifacts. Overcome with guilt, Eddie blames his father for stealing August’s family’s culture. He leaves the box. August returns to Prosperous, which looks like “a relic.”
Active
Themes
