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Chapter 20
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Great Alone, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Trauma and Violence
Paranoia and the Vietnam War
Isolation
Family and Community
Death and Grief
Coming of Age
Summary
Analysis
Fearing a repeat of what happened to his mother, Matthew wants to keep Leni safe, no matter what. After their camp is set up, Leni and Matthew make love and fall asleep in each other’s arms. After breakfast in the morning, they begin their descent, since Leni wants to return to her mother and Matthew vows to stick by her side. While hiking back to their vehicle, Leni falls into a ravine. When she comes to, she sees Matthew attempting to climb down to help her. She urges Matthew to go and get help instead, but he doesn’t listen.
Unlike Ernt, Matthew is willing to protect others no matter what. He rescues Leni and Cora from Ernt and now seeks to rescue Leni again. He loves Leni and is motivated by doing the right thing. However, his passion is also arguably his weakness because his actions risk putting himself and Leni in even more danger. His actions are also understandable, since he was unable to save his mother’s life when he was younger and fears the same helplessness now.
Themes
On his way to Leni, Matthew grabs a small tree, which causes him to fall. Matthew’s mistake causes rocks to rain down on Leni, one of which hits her in the head, causing her to pass out. When Leni comes to again, she sees Matthew unconscious and hanging by the straps of his backpack in a crevice. Leni worries that he might be dead. Fighting through the pain of a potentially broken arm and rib, Leni uses a knife to free Matthew. Upon falling to the ground, Matthew coughs and Leni is relieved to know he is alive.
Matthew’s fall is yet another example of a character in the novel ignoring a warning, only to end up in a worse situation. Though he survives the fall, Matthew puts himself and Leni in a life-threatening situation. Both are injured and no one else knows where they are.
Themes
Unable to move Matthew, Leni begins screaming at the top of her lungs for help. The rain starts up again and Leni fears that they will die there, trapped. Not knowing what else to do, Leni cradles Matthew and recites Robert Service’s “The Shooting of Dan McGrew.” Meanwhile, Matthew’s perspective is completely jumbled; he hears Leni’s voice but cannot recognize it. He feels as though he is dying.
Not knowing what else to do, Leni once again falls back on literature, in this case “The Shooting of Dan McGrew.” This poem describes Alaska as “the great alone,” and this description resonates with Leni in this moment of desperation. Also, although the novel largely sticks to third-person narration, this section provides first-person narration for Matthew, which allows access to his perspective even though he can no longer speak.
Themes
