The Marrow Thieves Lesson Plan

Why do you think Dimaline includes so much swearing in the novel?

Student responses to this question will be varied, but the most thoughtful responses will reflect on the dystopian circumstances of the novel in their answers. Swearing is generally a way to express intensity of emotion through language, and given the circumstances of the Natives in The Marrow Thieves, Natives forced to run from the government because their bone marrow is being stolen from them for dreams, ultimately killing them, it would be odd if emotional intensity wasn’t running high all the time. Another thing to consider is that the social customs of the world before no longer had any meaning....