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6. The Longhair, August 1
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in House Made of Dawn, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Home, Belonging, and Identity
Nature
Religion, Ceremony, and Tradition
Storytelling
Connection vs. Isolation
Summary
Analysis
The celebration continues with a procession. The horse and bull return, and long lines of dancers perform in perfect unison to the beating of the drums. Francisco leaves early and rides his wagon into the field. He finds his snare by the river, but it is empty. The river has risen and sprung the trap. Francisco listens to the drummers as he hoes the cornfield. He can imagine the dancers; this is his first time missing their performance. He fondly says Abel’s name to himself, knowing that he is alone again.
Francisco is attuned enough to the world around him that he senses when he has lost Abel. He leaves the ceremony for the first time in his long life to tend to his crops. Along the way, he checks the snare he set in the first chapter, bookending this section by ending it where it began. This kind of circular storytelling recurs throughout the book.
Themes
