In Chapter 18, Karana comes across a pair of birds who give birth to babies. Karana puts them in a birdcage so that they can stay with her. The birds eventually outgrow the cage, so Karana clips their winds to prevent them from flying away. They take food from Karana’s hand and are eventually tamed to the point that she doesn’t need to clip their wings anymore. One bird she names Tainor, after a person...
In Chapter 18, Karana comes across a pair of birds who give birth to babies. Karana puts them in a birdcage so that they can stay with her. The birds eventually outgrow the cage, so Karana clips their winds to prevent them from flying away. They take food from Karana’s hand and are eventually tamed to the point that she doesn’t need to clip their wings anymore. One bird she names Tainor, after a person she liked who was killed by the Aleuts. The other bird she calls Lurai, a name she always wanted.
The birds add to the themes of loss and the need for community. At this point in the story, Karana is starting to become self-reliant and achieve a hierarchy of authority by domesticating wild creatures. By not solely relying on senseless killing, Karana begins to develop compassion and love for those around her. By giving each a bird a name that is special to her, Karana is symbolically rebuilding the tribe that she initially lost.
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