Sunday, January 12, 2020

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

The Marrow Thieves 1st edition 9781770864863 1770864865


1.       The Marrow Thieves describes an apocalyptic not-so-distant future in which the world has been ravaged by global warming. Do you think this kind of future could plausibly happen in the real world? Why or why not?
a.     Yes, because there’s already a lot of climate issues
b.     People not thinking about the earth as part of something humanity needs to take care of
c.     Published in 2017
d.     People don’t get that food chain supply is being affected from pollinators to not enough water for crops
e.     Then you human migrations in the U.S. and the whole world

2.       Oneirology is the scientific study of dreams, and in the book, the plague that has hit everyone except Indigenous people prevents them from dreaming. As a result, Indigenous people are being hunted for their bone marrow.
a.     In the novel, why do you think Indigenous people are immune to the plague that prevents people from dreaming? Oral tradition and being tied to the land. Using dreams to travel, draw visions, and find solutions. There is more practice in remembering dreams.
b.     Do you think the ability to dream is important enough to murder for? No, but we do know that sleep is essential. You’ll die from lack of water in 10 days, from lack of food in 30 days if you still have water, and 10 days from lack of sleep but feel affects after 4 and cannot function.

3.       There were three main romantic love stories in the novel: between Frenchie and Rose, Chi-Boy and Wab, and Miigwans and Isaac. Did you find the love stories believable? Yes.

4.       Miig explains to Wab that their family band and non-Indigenous people are “both motivated by the same thing: survival.” Miig then says that “in a way,” their family and the Recruiters are the same. Do you agree? Why or why not?  ­
a.     They are not trying to hunt the recruiters.
b.     One respects human life and the other doesn’t.

5.       Miig and Minerva emphasize the importance of shared stories: their history “Story” by Miig, the Rogarou story by Minerva, each of their “coming-to” stories that they must tell themselves. What do you think makes their stories so sacred to them? All of them had a “coming to the group” story.
a.     You can’t tell someone else’s story.
b.     You were part of the group when THEY told you their story.
c.     So many ways languages were taken from indigenous people.
d.     Colonizers/ conquerors have been telling other people’s stories for years.

6.       When Minerva teaches the group the word “abwaad,” which means “cooking on a fire,” Frenchie “repeat[s] it “over and over as softly as [he can], hoarding something precious” (pg. 109).
a.     Do you ever feel like that when you learn words in a different language? Yes. Farfegnugen.
b.     Why do you think Frenchie and the others feel that way about learning a word in their language? So many indigenous languages have been lost that pulling it from the rubble is precious. It’s cool to learn words that have no exact translation because they are so specific to that culture.

7.       When the group enters the Four Winds Resort, although there is easily space for everyone to have their own rooms, everyone ends up having a slumber party in Frenchie’s room in the end (interrupting Rose and Frenchie making out). Why do you think they (Frenchie, Rose, RiRi, Slopper, Tree, Zheegwon, Minerva, Miig, Chi-Boy, and Wab) chose to all sleep together in the same room instead of separately?
a.     Family coming together.
b.     Weird to come from outside open space to walls and doors.

8.       What did you think of the ending? Was it satisfying?
a.     Confused.
b.     She blew everything up – there is power in connection.

9.       Was there anything you wanted to read more about or unanswered questions you had at the end of the novel? What do you think will happen next? What can a novel about an undesirable future tell us or emphasize for us about the world we live in today?*

10.     The theme of dreamers is a major theme in this novel, and it is reflected in this quote: “And I understood that as long as there are dreamers left, there will never be want for a dream (p. 231).
a.     Who are the dreamers of today? Immigrants, social justice activist, climate activists
b.     What are their dreams?* wanting to come to America, have a different America

11.     The Marrow Thieves explores the idea that our physical bodies serve as a storage for our memories. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the human body?*

12.     How is the future depicted in The Marrow Thieves informed by the actual history of Indigenous peoples in North America?*

13.     Who is Cherie Dimaline? Why do you think she has written this story?*