Motifs
Death
Death has a lot of reoccurring events in the story. The first event of death in the book is when Rob is in the woods with Pinky and the Hawk eat the bunny. Rob feels bad for the bunny but realizes that without the bunny the hawk would die because it does not have any food. One event of death is when Haven, Rob and Ira try to weasel Ira's dog and the dog survives but bites Ira after it kills the weasel so they have to kill the dog. After they kill the dog Haven says that he will never weasel a dog ever again because of how much the dog suffered.Another example of death in the book is when the Pecks apple crop dies. This shows the struggles that the family is having which leads up to killing Pinky for food. Another example of death in the novel is when Haven and Rob have to kill Pinky for the meat because she can not have a litter. Rob struggles with the death of Pinky because he raised her as a pet and had to witness her death. This teaches Rob that you have to do things that you do not want to do in life. Also this is the first time that you see Haven emotional in the book which makes Rob realize that haven did not want to kill Pinky but he had to for food. The last example of death in the book is when Haven dies. Rob goes out to the barn on a spring day to wake up his dad but his dad will not wake up so he knows that he is dead. Rob does not freak out that his dad dies but continues doing the daily chores and then makes funeral arrangements for Haven. Rob encounters death throughout the novel and learns how to overcome it which makes him stronger. |
Acceptance
Rob comes to peace with a lot of things by the end of the novel.At the beginning of the book Rob wishes that he was not a Shaker because he gets made fun of it at school by Edward Thatcher. Also Throughout the book Rob has many "wants" like a bike, a coat, and even money. He wishes that he was able to get all of these nice things but he knows that he can not get them. At the end of the book Rob is proud of who he is and knows all he has to do is work hard day in and day out which can make him the richest man alive. Haven teaches Rob through his teachings that he will become the riches man alive because he has his family and friends who love and care for him. Rob also thinks at the beginning of the book that Baptist are bad but realizes that Mr. Tanner and his Aunt Matty are Baptist and they are really nice people and Rob learns to respect them for who they are. Rob also learns to accept the passing of Pinky and Haven. He learns that people have to do things that they do not want to do but they do them anyways because they have too. He learns that Pinky has to die because they need the meat so that his family can survive throughout the winter. He also accepts the passing of his dad and realizes that his dad can finally relax and will not have to work anymore. Rob has to be able to accept many things that happen to him in his life. |
Persistence
Persistence is another example of a motif in the book. An example of persistence is when Rob was helping Apron give birth. He kept trying to get the calf out and when he finally did he had to help the Apron because she was choking on her goiter so Rob ripped it out. In return for his hard work he received a baby pig that he named Pinky. A different example of persistence is Rob taking care of Pinky throughout the novel so when he and Pinky went to Rutlenburg she won the blue ribbon for best behaved pig. Also Rob was very persistent in his school and schoolwork because he got all A's except in English so he practiced English and was tutored by Aunt Matty so he would get a better grade next year. Haven also showed persistence because he is illiterate but when he died Rob found a piece of paper with his name on it. This showed that Haven practiced so he could write his name so that people could see him as a hard worker. There are many times in the novel where Rob had to try more than ounce to accomplish a task and so did Haven because he went from being illiterate to being able to write his name. Persistence is evident throughout the novel. |
Birth and Reproduction
Birth and reproduction occurs several times throughout the novel. Examples of birth and reproduction in the novel is when Apron gives birth to her calves and when Pinky inability to have a litter and the Shaker religion belief. In the begging of the book Rob helps Mr. Tanner's cow give birth to two calves but Rob gets beat up bad by Apron. Anther example of birth and reproduction is Pinky's inability to have a litter. When Pinky can not have a litter she has to be killed for meat but if Pinky was able to produce a litter Rob would not have to kill her. Also Shakers did not believe in reproduction which caused the religion to dissipate over time. The only way that the Shakers had more generations is by adopting or having kids before they joined the religion. |