comment on theme

The author uses grief as the dominant theme in the novella as a way to inform how grief impacts the mental state of those in mourning.

The boys and Dad are all in a state of shock at the beginning of the novella. It is clear that they are coping with the sudden death in different ways but are connected through their interactions with Crow. Because the arrival of Crow is not likely a comforting image, it matches the unsettledness they all feel following the accident.