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Chapter 21
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
Leni and Matthew are trapped on the mountains for two days before a helicopter comes to rescue them. Leni is rescued first, despite her protests, though Matthew is right behind her. Their rescuers tell Leni that she will be fine but fail to say the same about Matthew. Later, when Leni wakes up in the hospital, Cora is standing over her, comforting her. As soon as Leni fully comes to, she hauls herself out of bed and makes her way to Matthew. When she finds him, she doesn’t even recognize him; his head has been shaved and he is covered in bandages. The doctors say he might not live through the night. While watching over Matthew, Leni asks her mother about Ernt. When Cora tells her that Ernt is in jail, Leni responds, “Good.”
Leni feels that Ernt is responsible for Matthew’s accident, which could potentially lead to his death. The fact that the boy who she loves is unrecognizable to her is difficult for Leni to grasp. She’s been through many traumatizing experiences since arriving in Kaneq, but none shake her quite like seeing Matthew this way. Though Cora may still have love and compassion for Ernt, Leni’s is gone; she is glad her father is in jail and hopes that he stays there.
Themes
The following morning, Leni wakes up to learn that Matthew is alive, but he is in a medically induced coma. The doctors decide to try to wake him, hoping he will be able to breathe on his own; if he can’t, he will die. Tom, Alyeska, Cora, and Leni all gather around, praying that Matthew will be okay. The doctors wake Matthew out of his coma and after a few moments of intense silence, Matthew sharply inhales. The Walkers and the Allbrights are relieved, but the doctor tells them they shouldn’t be too hopeful; Matthew will almost certainly be paralyzed for the remainder of his life and has suffered severe brain damage.
The Walker and Allbright families are both familiar with trauma and loss, but that doesn’t make Matthew’s condition any easier to deal with. If Matthew were to die, the Walker family would be cut in half and Leni’s only friend in the world would be gone.
Themes
A few days later, Leni is discharged from the hospital. She apologies to the Walkers on her way out, though they do not think it’s necessary. Afterwards, Cora and Leni head home, assuming that Ernt is still in jail. However, when they arrive at their cabin, they find Ernt; Cora refused to press charges and so he is already out of jail. Ernt provides his typical half-hearted apology, and although Cora accepts it right away, Leni refuses to have anything to do with her father from that point forward. In an instant, she decides that she will leave her father, whether Cora joins or not.
Ernt’s return shocks Leni. She cannot believe that her mother would refuse to press charges and risk putting both of them in danger yet again. As such, Leni no longer feels obliged to live by her mother’s bad decisions. This is a major turning point for Leni’s character, since she previously elevated her mother’s needs above her own.
Themes
Leni’s next few days are spent writing letters to Matthew and ignoring her father. In her letters, she tells Matthew how much she loves him and how sorry she is for what happened to him. In the meantime, Ernt’s rage is building; he is furious that Leni will not acknowledge him. Cora warns Leni that she is going to cause even more trouble, but Leni doesn’t care. She writes in a letter to Matthew, “I have no hope left for him. The only hope I can hold on to is for you. For us.”
With no one left to talk to, Leni is forced to write letters for someone who cannot read. This speaks to how much she loves Matthew and to the extent of her loneliness. However, although it is nice to see someone stand up to Ernt, Cora is correct to say that Leni is creating more problems for them. Ernt can only contain his rage for so long before snapping again, and each time is always worse than the last.
Themes
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