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Chapter 4
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 defines bilirr—the yellow-tailed black cockatoo. He claims these birds were present when his mother gave birth to him in Tent Town. Afterward, when Albert moved to the Mission’s Boys’ Home (which encouraged him to “Act White”) he had a vision of a spirit who taught him wanga-dyung, which refers to a temporary state of “lostness.” Then she disappeared, leaving a bilirr in her place. After this first instance of time travel, other ancestors visited and led Albert to campfires near the river, where he listened to many stories. Albert’s great-great-great-grandfather taught him the connecting word yandu (which can mean “yet, if, then, when”) which holds such stories together.
Albert draws a connection between himself and the bilirr, deepening the notion that in Albert’s understanding, humans are spiritually intertwined with the natural world. Where his life at the Mission focuses on assimilating him into White culture, Albert’s spiritual visitations educate him in the ways of his Aboriginal Australian ancestors. It seems significant that the first Wiradjuri words he learns are connecting words and words that connote “lostness.” Perhaps the connecting words can help keep Albert connected to his Aboriginal identity as he suffers under colonialism.
Active
Themes
In another entry, Albert defines baayanha as “yield” or “bend.” In English, yield refers to things taken from the land, whereas in the Aboriginal tongue it is an act of surrender or bending. Albert’s ancestors were buried with every joint bent to signify their yielding to death. Lastly, he defines minhi as “younger sister.” Albert describes managing livestock in his early adulthood. Once, another worker said their shared family tree was more of a pruned bush. This reminds Albert of all the people he’s lost, including Mary, his little sister who was sent to the Mission’s Girls’ Home. Though Albert and Mary eventually reconnected, their relationship was never as close as he wanted it to be.
