In Chapter 8, the mother and the grandmother disagree about how to honour Benjamin. What does this conflict of interest reveal to you?

Saul’s mother, and the other members of her generation, are all Christian. Although they converted due to their time in residential schools, time which Saul’s mother still remembers with dread, they nevertheless hold onto their faith and push back against Naomi’s adherence to her own traditions. Naomi isn’t prescriptive about her religious practice—she merely insists that there is no meaningful difference between her Creator and their God. But for the Christians, even refusing to choose one over the other is an act of blasphemy.

Naomi’s intent of burying Ben in the earth would honor both Benjamin’s life, and what Saul sees in his body. Thus, when Benjamin’s Christian parents insist on burying him according to “the rites of the Church” and taking him away from the land, they deny those parts of him.