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
Kya’s trial slowly unfolds, and as it does, she observes the various power dynamics at play, recognizing certain similarities between nature and the legal process. Eric questions Hal Miller, the shrimper who claims to have seen her driving her boat toward the fire tower on the night of Chase’s murder. When Tom cross-examines Hal, though, he destabilizes the man’s certainty, getting him to admit that it was dark and that the boat was far away. As this line of questioning unfolds, Sunday Justice jumps down from his perch on the windowsill and curls in Kya’s lap. Eric, for his part, wants to make an objection because this development might make the jury unduly sympathetic toward Kya, but he says nothing because there are no rules forbidding such a thing.
Even in the lifeless environment of the courtroom, Kya manages to find a sense of connection to nature. Not only does she recognize similarities between the power dynamics in court and those that play out in the animal kingdom, but she also finds solace in Sunday Justice. Meanwhile, Tom does a good job of further revealing the fact that Eric’s witnesses have been encouraged to incriminate Kya even though they’re not actually sure of what they’re saying. This, of course, is quite unfair, ultimately reflecting the way that the people of Barkley Cove have long mistreated Kya and assumed the worst of her.
Themes
