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
In the courtroom the next day, Kya experiences a moment of hope and private joy upon seeing Jodie, who is sitting next to Tate, Mabel, and Jumpin’. At the same time, though, Kya feels ashamed that he now knows she’s on trial for murder. However, there isn’t much time to dwell on such thoughts, since Eric calls Patti Love—his next witness—to the stand. Looking at Chase’s mother, Kya feels foolish for letting herself think that the woman would ever have accepted her as a daughter-in-law. The conversation that follows between Patti Love and Eric has to do with Chase’s necklace and how it disappeared on the night of his death. Eric also holds up a small book that Kya once gave Chase, and Patti Love explains that the pages contain illustrations of their relationship together. In one illustration, Kya gives Chase the necklace atop the fire tower.
One unexpected benefit of Kya’s trial is that it shows her once and for all who supports her. When she enters the courtroom, she has a visual representation of the fact that there really are people in her life who care about her, since Jodie, Tate, Mabel, and Jumpin’ have all taken the time to sit right behind her in a show of solidarity. Unfortunately for her, though, this does little to make up for what Patti Love tells Eric, since the illustration of Kya and Chase on the fire tower is—it seems—quite incriminating.
Themes
