Trust Theme in The Marrow Thieves Essay Example

The novel The marrow thieves are about Indigenous people who are on the run. It takes place in the future where only Indigenous people can dream. While the rest of the population is unable. they realize that dreams are stored in the bone marrow of the Indigenous people. To harvest the dreams they bring back residential schools and abduct Innocent people from their families. But how do people survive? They use a trust to form relationships because people need relationships to survive. After all, humans are built to be social.  Sometimes those relationships end in loss, which is bound to happen, but using the people whom you know you can trust help you remember the intent of your trip, so you don’t lose your way.

Presently in a novel where Indigenous people are being harvested for people, you have to stick together, yet you also have to be cautious because anyone could betray you, even your kind.

Trust is beneficial when it comes to life or death situations. Trust forms relationships which are necessary to survive, because humans need social interactions, especially for people's mental health. The trust between Frenchie, at his found family, benefited Frenchie with social interactions, and the combined efforts of getting resources, which allowed French to grow throughout the novel. When French was alone he had barely anything and he was about to give up because he had lost everything. He spoke out loud “I'm going to die” hearing himself, “say that out loud made it like it was coming from someone else's mouth it made his head swell up with tears”(Dimaline13)   Though “he knew that he would never see his family again if he was captured by the recruiters” (Dimaline 7) he knew then that if he was going to die he would die fighting. He trudged on, but night came nearer. Then as he knew it was too late to build a fire or shelter he slid down, eventually “he closed his eyes for just a moment and let the dream come on” (Dimalie 15)  Then the group found him, and throughout the story, his family helped him find himself, and build up his self-esteem releasing his self-worth. 

In opposition to trust being beneficial, it is also risky. Trusting the wrong people could be catastrophic. The effects of mistrust specifically with the encounter with the Tagalog speaking people who posed as lost injured indegenous peoples with one younger Cree woman who betrayed  Miig which ended with Miig losing his husband, and having minor trust issues. When they just heard about the residential schools reopening Miigwans and his husband went to their cottage which was secluded and far from most people. Miigwans heard stories of the old residential schools when he was younger. His family probably went to a residential school and the effects of generational trauma also cause him to have trust issues. But his husband Isaac had not heard of those stories he “had a lot of hope to the point it was infectious' ' (Dimaline 101) and they heard a noise and thought it could have been food, but it was people who were lost. Since they were already on the property “There was no use trying to talk him out of anything once he made his mind” (Dimaline 102), but these guests were rude considering the circumstances they took too much of the food, and they were oddly quiet.  Until one night when the younger Cree Woman was in the doorway late at night, she told them to run. When the recruiters came for them. And He lost Isaac because he was too hopeful, and he did not understand the circumstances he thought he could talk to them. 

Additionally, being betrayed is inevitable, but how do people overcome betrayal?  By using the family that Frenchie already trusted he was able to overcome his betrayals. Such as when he and his family was betrayed by the other indigenous people. After his family escaped he used Miig to guide him and to help his grief and process what had happened, by using the people he trusted to overcome betrayal. “Thing is, French, sometimes you do things you normally wouldn't do in another time and place. Sometimes the path in front of you alters. Sometimes it goes through some pretty dark territory. Just make sure it does not alter the intent of your trip” (Dimaline 145).

In a story where your Family, and heritage are being utilized by people. It is important that you stay with trustworthy people. Because humans need people, but just because they might be your kind does not mean they won’t betray you, the betrayal is unavoidable, but by having people whom you trust helping you throughout loss or grief, and when you do something that typically goes against your morals they help you realize that your past does not define who you are. And you can always be a better person. The characters betray how trust affects people throughout the novel whether it is positively or negatively.