In the dystopian fiction, The Marrow Thieves, trash reduces the world, and the effects of climate change and the Recruiters plague the Indigenous communities with despair. The story delves into the trauma and past of the characters while they run away from the dream catchers. Throughout the book, Frenchie, a 16-year-old Indian who joins Miigwan’s family, battles with the external problem of the Recruiters and residential schools and many internal conflicts such as responsibility, identity, and maturity. Therefore this leads me to the question: how does Frenchie change throughout the story? Frenchie begins the novel afraid and vulnerable. However, by the end, he is resilient and serves as a protector of the community.
At the novel's beginning, when Frenchie goes hunting with the family, he cannot bring himself to kill the moose. As he stares into the animal's eyes, he begins to question what the meaning of harming the animal is as he states, "[b]ut could we travel with this meat before it rotted? No. And could we smoke and dry it? No" (Dimaline, 49). In the end, Frenchie decides that he "couldn't do it. [He] couldn't let it come this" (Dimaline, 50). To contrast, as the story evolves, Frenchie comes to a similar crossroad when RiRi is killed. The words from those two moments are copied word for word as Frenchie describes, "[t]ime is slow in that vacuum space. In this new space, I had time to aim squarely between the man's eyes" (Dimaline, 136). However, this time he pulls the trigger and shoots the accomplice of the kidnapping. The turning point of Frenchie's character begins during this moment as he develops from a teenager who will never kill an animal to a person who does not hesitate to protect those he loves. This turn into adulthood showcases the hardness that the woods brings to him as he continues to run away from the Recruiters.
Continuing with that notion, Frenchie is afraid of climbing out the window and onto the tree when the Recruiters come to take Mitch away. He even yells at his brother, screaming, “[b]ut Mitch! I can’t climb out a window” (Dimaline, 8). As the novel progresses, Frenchie is known to be the best climber, and whenever outside harm is suspected, he is called upon to climb the trees and scout for any people. His newfound family provides Frenchie with confidence. One of the discussion questions in class asked what made a family? For Miigwan’s family, everyone has a skill set that aids their survival. For Frenchie, that is climbing and not being afraid of that goes back to the theme of protection and wanting to hold his weight in the family instead of being left useless, like when Mitch is taken. In the end, Frenchie changes because of his family and the experiences he faces while in the woods. From being a scared child to a mature teenager, Frenchie becomes more of a leader in the group.
I find your argument about Frenchie's development throughout the story to be very compelling, and it is honestly something that I neglected before reading your post. To add on to it, I notice that Frenchie also develops into a mature teenager through his relationship with Rose. Not only does he overcome shyness with her, but he also overcomes his insecurity about her feelings for him. After feeling threatened by Derrick, he tells Rose, "Don't expect me to chase after you" (196). Frenchie feels ashamed of his comment directly after making it, and it's clear to the reader that he says this purely out of spite and insecurity. However, after consulting his father, he realizes that within Rose, he has found "an idea of home that [he] wasn't willing to lose" (217). This causes him to finally leave behind his prior insecurity and immaturity and recognize the importance "moving towards something, not away" (217). This change within Frenchie as a result of his love for Rose contributes further to the idea that he develops into adulthood over the span of the novel.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that Frenchie experiences a lot of change and growth throughout the novel. One of the major indicators of this change, I believe, has to do with his hair. It’s very obvious how attached Frenchie is to his long hair. He mentions it often and seems to think of it as one of his few connections to his culture, in addition to it being a sign of his maturity and manhood. During his struggle for dominance with Derrick, Frenchie mentions several times how he “[has] the longest braids, even in [the] larger group” (Dimaline, 190). He’ll puff out his chest and assert himself with his longer hair, proud to display the evidence of his masculinity. However, at some point he realizes that his hair is not as important as he makes it out to be. After Minerva’s death, he cuts his hair short. The Frenchie from the beginning of the novel never would have done so, but he has undergone change great enough to allow him to do so. Throughout the course of the novel, Frenchie has learned that the greatest connection he has to his culture is the people around him, and as such, he is able to cut his hair to show his care and respect for Minerva. When this happens, he proves his maturity in a much more profound way than the methods he had previously adopted.
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