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Marrow Thieves Sparknotes

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Recommended: An essay about indigenous oppression

Ben Robinson
Mr. Vujacic
ENG 2D1
March 15th, 2023

Throughout Cherie Dimaline’s, The Marrow Thieves published on September 1, 2017 by Cormorant Books through its Dancing Cat Books imprint, the theme of the importance of storytelling is extremely prevalent. The novel takes place in a futuristic world where the government’s goal is to drain the bone marrow of the indigenous, in order to give it to the suffering population, having lost the ability to dream. Similar to indigenous culture where story is woven into their traditions, this book uses storytelling to make the reader feel more connected to the plot but more importantly as a method of survival. This is because of the fact that they give the listeners hope, to keep going as well as arguably …show more content…

This is in the form of “Story”, an ongoing story told by the group elder Miig to ensure the younger Indigenous survivors in the novel remember their history. They are also in the form of individual characters “coming-to stories”, the backstories of the other people in Miigs family. While listening to Story, Frenchie says: “But every week we spoke, because it was imperative that we know. He [Miig] said it was the only way to make the kinds of changes that were necessary to really survive”(Dimaline 25). This quote highlights the importance of listening to Story. That even the characters of the novel know that Story is necessary for the survival of their population. In the last sentence of the quote, when Miig takes about the necessary changes for survival, he is referring to the fact that these Indigenous people have been oppressed and marginalized for centuries, and the only way to fight against this oppression is to remember their history and use it to create …show more content…

Throughout history, indigenous peoples have faced threats to their culture and language. In the novel, it is obvious that the “language” has been mostly lost to all but Minerva who poses certain words as gifts in story or otherwise to the children. It is that very knowledge that is the key to defeating the reuters and government, and getting one step closer to survival. “She sang. She sang with volume and pitch and a heartbreaking wail that echoed through her relatives’ bones…And there were words: words in the language that the conductor couldn’t process…It was her gift, her secret, her plan.” (Dimaline

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