The title Through Black Spruce signifies the passageway between the two different environments of Moosonee and the outside world. Moosonee is a ‘pure’ place, compared to the outside world but is being tainted from the negative influences of the outside world. The characters of Marius and Danny primarily introduce these influences as they smuggle drugs through the black spruce into Moosonee and sell it to the youth. Gordon, a “city Indian” proves that the outside world is not completely corrupt as he travels to Moosonee with Annie and has a positive influence on the Bird family.
Marius and Danny mirror each other but in different context. Marius torments Will and brings a bad influence through drugs to the children of Moosonee. Danny torments Annie and is a part of the same drug trafficking business but in the south. There is evidence that proves that Marius was not always the poor influence that he is, “We are all born …show more content…
And we can maintain the innocence of children if that is what we choose,”(65). The excerpt that Lisette reads solidifies one of the themes in the book: the innocence of children. The purity of children is also portrayed well through Will’s speech: “Down Sesame Street, the children squatted in the dust with blackfly haloes around their heads… The children own the streets here, and that’s a good thing, no?” (97) Boyden’s word choice of using the word “haloes” to describe the shape of the blackflies is key as the word halo is not affiliated with blackflies normally. Boyden chooses the word halo to emphasize the purity of the children because the word halo is used synonymously with angels who are considered the purest of the pure.
Marius and Danny mirror each other but in different context. Marius torments Will and brings a bad influence through drugs to the children of Moosonee. Danny torments Annie and is a part of the same drug trafficking business but in the south. There is evidence that proves that Marius was not always the poor influence that he is, “We are all born …show more content…
And we can maintain the innocence of children if that is what we choose,”(65). The excerpt that Lisette reads solidifies one of the themes in the book: the innocence of children. The purity of children is also portrayed well through Will’s speech: “Down Sesame Street, the children squatted in the dust with blackfly haloes around their heads… The children own the streets here, and that’s a good thing, no?” (97) Boyden’s word choice of using the word “haloes” to describe the shape of the blackflies is key as the word halo is not affiliated with blackflies normally. Boyden chooses the word halo to emphasize the purity of the children because the word halo is used synonymously with angels who are considered the purest of the pure.