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Chapter 29
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
In his dictionary, Albert translates girr as “eternity, things to come”—a disappointing concept, since he doesn’t know what’s coming. Albert senses he’ll be leaving nganha-gunhung-guwala (“the day after tomorrow”). He tries not to dwell on everything unfinished, hoping someone will pick up his work when he’s gone. Albert defines gudin as “dead man.” He flashes back to the night he took his spear to Jimmy Corvette’s apartment and forced him to drive to a secluded place. Search efforts turned up no sign of Jedda. Albert demanded her location from Jimmy, who hid his face. To Albert, this confirmed his guilt. He speared Jimmy through the thigh as he ran, knowing “everything had fallen apart.”
Nearing the end of his life, Albert reflects on his most painful memories and regrets. Among these, he reveals the reason he made the spear: to kill Jimmy Corvette, who he suspected had taken Jedda. Albert’s sorrow is twofold: as a man who values family above all else, it pains him to hurt Jimmy. At the same time, he is devastated by the apparent confirmation that Jimmy killed Jedda. Additionally, it seems unlikely anyone apart from Albert and August know of Jimmy’s abuse and his involvement in Jedda’s disappearance. This trauma, though concealed, continues to wreak havoc on the Gondiwindis as they are unable to properly process their grief.
Active
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