Salvage the Bones

Jesmyn Ward

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2011

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Character Analysis

Esch

The novel’s narrator starts out as a quiet, meek, and weak girl who allows boys such as Manny--to take advantage of her because she doesn’t have the will or the courage to say no, or to stand up for herself. However, Manny isn’t the only male character that treats her poorly; her father does as well. In the scene where he makes Skeetah use her as a step-ladder to get something for him, there is a strong association between his behavior and that of the men Esch sleeps with. When Esch discovers she is pregnant, she feels lot of shame, considering it entirely her fault: “I’m crying again for what I have been, for what I am, and for what I will be, again” (147), rather than considering Manny’s role in her present circumstances. However, we do see other sides to Esch; when she was younger, her father thought “she was going to be a little scrappy scrawny thing—built just like [her mother]’” (6). This description hints at the fighting spirit that she demonstrates at the end of the book when she confronts Manny, and survives the hurricane. She comes to learn her own strength as a young woman. The many parallels drawn between Esch and the mythological figure Medea also suggest the ways in which her character will develop throughout the novel. Euripides’ play focuses on Medea's emotional growth; she develops from a woman in the throes of despair into a tough and even destructive character. It is clear to see that Esch undergoes a similar transformation throughout her story.

Skeetah

Esch’s sensitive older brother is devoted to his dog, China, and at times this is a source of jealousy for Esch. However, he ultimately shows his love and loyalty to his sister when he is willing to use China in a dog fight to protect Esch’s dignity from Manny’s abuse, as well as giving up China in the flood in order to save Esch from drowning. He is aware of Esch’s feelings throughout the novel before she has to explain them and defends her womanhood when it is challenged. Skeetah’s most important role in the story is to uphold the symbolism of China: that women are equal in strength to men Esch comments that he dotes on China like a lover, which illustrates his nurturing side and his belief in the value of all life. To him, China isn’t “just” a dog, but is an equal member of the Batiste family and that is why he looks after her with as much care and attention as Randall looks after Junior.

Randall and Junior

These two characters don’t have the same close relationship to the narrator that Skeetah does and because Randall is more like a father to Junior than Claude is, they are rarely ever away from each other. Throughout the novel, the narrator describes how much Junior clings to Randall as though they are one unit. This serves to reinforce the importance of family in the novel and highlights the fact that their survival depends on their helping one another. They didn’t really have a parental figure to depend on, and so the children have had to look after themselves

Manny

Esch describes Manny as “golden” and beautiful and there are several instances where her description betrays her love for him. She states that he is “loudest of them all: his teeth like white knives” (9) and his repeated rejection of her, either through deliberate neglect or physical dismissal, proves that he is an awful person. He does nothing but use Esch to fulfill his sexual desires and he is unwilling to engage in any sort of intimacy: he refuses to make eye contact or kiss her. His advice to Rico that his dog, Kilo, should attack China on her swollen breasts during the dog fight is also a deliberate display of his cruel misogyny.

Big Henry

Although not a dominant character in the story, Big Henry’s kindness and warmth serves as a foil to the cold and cruel Manny. The narrator even makes the contrast clear: “There is no blazing fire to his eyes, no cold burning ice like Manny’s. Only warmth…” (254). Throughout the novel, Esch makes note of his gentle demeanor and his concern for her. It can also be inferred that he is in love with Esch. When she tells him that she is pregnant and that her baby doesn’t have a father, he disagrees and directly tells her that she’s “always got [him]”. This is in clear contrast to Manny’s rejection of Esch when he tells her he’s got “‘nothin’” with her.