Kya Character Analysis in Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (Book Analysis)

Kya Clark, because of her abusive father. His abusiveness caused the rest of her family to disappear. Kya, now fifteen, has grown to live by herself to achieve her main goal of survival. In the fictional novel Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens presents a setting to reveal Kya's isolation from her town, ultimately illustrating that society judges individuals based on appearance and moral values. 

The town consists of many people who negatively judge Kya. The townspeople are known to treat Kya negatively. More specifically, the preacher's wife and daughter assume that Kya is the most disgusting, unhygienic person ever. The little girl has pulled away from Kya. Kya, when in contact with Mrs. Culpepper, the truancy officer, was asked to attend school. She was the cause of Kya’s first and last day of school. Due to Kya's home being the shack and caring for herself, she does not look as put together as the townspeople do. Kya's skin tone is the cause of judgment from the town. Also, Kya’s social class is not as high as the townspeople would be because she is living by herself. Kya, being a young girl, is expected to meet beauty standards. Instead, she plays in the marsh.

The marsh, however, is Kya's home. The shack is the place where she is not judged or looked down on. The marsh is where Kya can be adventurous without judgment. The people closer to Kya's town care for Kya and would do anything for her because they know Kya’s story. They connected to Kya’s family in some way: Jumpin’ to her father, Tate to her brother, and Mrs. Singletary to her mother. Due to the town's understanding of Kya and where she comes from, they refrain from judging her based on assumptions. The marsh people see her skin tone and push that aside because it does not matter. They see her uncleanliness but know she can not afford a water bill. What Kya's people see is a strong-willed girl whose goal is survival. 

Kya’s alienation began from her parents and siblings leaving her to be by herself. Her alienation continued because of how the town treated her. Also, Tate breaks her because he left for college. Kya never lets the townspeople get under her skin. Kya only sees herself as a bit behind in school but is catching up. Kya’s alienation reveals the strive to survive and the value she holds towards the marsh. Kya’s interest in nature is so extravagant because that is her home. She knows the Marsh will never abandon her. Due to Kya’s moral values, she has learned to go on with life and block out the townspeople who judge her. 

Kya’s alienation reveals her strength, courage, and social skills when having human interaction. Her alienation is because the town judges her based on assumptions and appearance. The universal message is that if society waited to learn before they assume, there would be more sympathy and respect than disgust and standards.