Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Where the Crawdads Sing, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Survival, Necessity, and Violence
Independence vs. Human Connection
Education, Coming of Age, and Adulthood
Prejudice, Intolerance, and Acceptance
Summary
Analysis
Ed and Joe send the hat from Kya’s cabin to the lab. When the results come back, they confirm that the hat matches the fibers found on Chase’s coat. Reviewing the evidence against Kya, they note that Hal Miller saw her take her boat to the fire tower on the night of Chase’s death. They also recall that Patti Love told them Kya made Chase a shell necklace, and that this necklace disappeared the night he died. However, they aren’t sure about Kya’s motive. As they try to decide what to do next, Rodney Horn enters and tells them he saw Kya and Chase in a place called Cypress Cove in August. After he tells his story and leaves, Joe and Ed think they’ve formulated a reason why Kya would want to kill Chase, so they decide to bring her in for questioning.
As the evidence stacks up against Kya, readers—and Ed and Joe, too—are left wondering why she would want to kill Chase. Because she hasn’t exhibited many violent tendencies, it’s hard to imagine the circumstances that would lead her to kill Chase, even if he did wrong her by marrying Pearl. This sense of mystery sustains the narrative, inviting readers to scrutinize Kya’s behavior, which has thus far only illustrated that she’s a lonely young woman who wants to be loved but also wants to ensure her own survival and wellbeing. Now, though, it seems there’s new information to suggest that she’s guilty, though Owens doesn’t reveal the underlying truth quite yet.
Themes
