Somewhere between the fallen pecans, the wool afghan, and the clandestine photographs, we can find in Animal Dreams a consistent symbol of death. Codi is followed throughout the story by an apparent disappearance of those around her, from friends and family to her earthly surroundings. She also faces the loss of perception of herself, her origins and her instincts. The novel opens and closes with “The Night/Day of All the Dead,” giving readers insight into Codi's past and potential future, including their death of conventionality. Beliefs, motivations, and traditions are significantly altered in these chapters, providing vast and modified perceptions of the surrounding environment. Codi's return to Grace in "Hallie's Bones" draws on the end of a previous fling, an avoidance, and a strange reluctance to accept the security she secretly craves. “Bleeding Hearts” and “A River on the Moon” depict the death of natural beings in Codi’s “personal ecosystem.” He is then confronted with the gradual but undeniable death of his father's mental state in "Day of the Dead" and "Human Remains". From the initial loss of her mother and child throughout her development to the realization of her future and environment in adulthood, Codi is continually challenged by the images and realities of death that surround her. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Animal Dreams begins with Doc Homer's recollection of his daughters as young women, in "Night of the Dead." He makes the decision that after attending the tradition, “this will be [Codi and Hallie's] last year for the cemetery and Day of the Dead. There are too many skeletons down there." (Kingsolver 4) The beginning of the novel, which begins “from the moments of departure,” is depicted quite clearly in this obvious denial of a child's holiday customs in an attempt to hide a dark family secret. (Stevenson 187) This behavior exemplifies Homer's general attitude towards his children throughout the story, often replacing love and "display of affection" with practicality and protectiveness, or "orthopedic shoes." This absolute limitation of affection and honesty from father to daughters is a standard symbol of the death of tradition and communication. Very differently, “The Day of the Dead,” with which the novel ends, portrays “a sense of affirmation, emphasizing resolution, continuity, new life and the next generation.” (Stevenson 187) However, in Codi's acceptance of this fresh and alternative option one can find the death of a custom. Codi's eternal refusal to remain in Grace throughout the novel, as well as her avoidance of a stationary lifestyle from the beginning, truly and visibly comes close to her decline in this chapter. Including the announcement of her father's death, this chapter also reveals that Codi had, in fact, been present at her mother's death. “If you remember something, then it's true,” Viola explains, finally stifling the painful insecurity of Codi's continually denied memories. (Kingsolver 342) “The Night of All the Dead” and “The Day of All the Dead” are sincerely appropriate for the realizations and choices contained in each chapter. It is true that the decisions and outcomes of the main characters in these chapters, whatever their intention, touch all souls, describing the clearly “all-encompassing” nature of these indisputably significant dates. Codi's transition to the sea change she undergoes over the course of the novel begins with her return to her hometown of Grace, New Mexico. After a lower position with 7-11 and aquietly unsatisfying relationship, returns to the city, "of things eroding too slowly to notice" in "Hallie's Bones." (Kingsolver 8) While he initially applies this description to the city's natural features, it soon becomes clear that this gradual wear and tear is also pertinent to its population. Literary critic Roberta Rubenstein argues that with Codi's return to Grace also comes the "rediscovery of one's lost self." (Rubenstein 204) However, its final outcome is one that absolutely marks the death of this original personification, creating an entirely new character from Codi. His return home is, in fact, in itself a death, of the empty and anchorless life that Codi had previously claimed. She arrives "at that moment in my life, without knowing how to make that choice that was necessary here." (Kingsolver 15) Upon her final settlement in Grace, however, she maintains an entirely different perspective and ability to not only “make that choice,” but to feel worthy of doing so. The title of "Hallie's Bones" is slightly ominous and perhaps provides insight into the completely altered future of Codi's story, just as the chapter itself does as a whole. The promising steps towards Grace, together with the descriptive disappointment in her past “adventure,” ultimately offer the clue that “the search for individual identity is not in itself sufficient to guarantee her the peace, security and sense of belonging that desires." (Aubrey 1) Remembering the tremendously close relationship between the two sisters, “like profoundly mismatched Siamese twins conjoined in the depths of the mind,” and the past they had shared together, allows for a slight anticipation of events to come, as does the adventure into an old, but completely new world of Grace. (Kingsolver 8) In addition to his sense of self, clarity of memory, and many loved ones, the loss/death that Codi experiences quickly extends to his natural environment as well. “Like Codi's inner being, the land around Grace is at risk; an important stage in Codi's eventual discovery of his true place as an "insider" in Grace is his political awakening to this fact. (Rubenstein 206) “Bleeding Hearts” describes the arrival of winter, in which trees begin to die, shedding leaves and fruit “…in handfuls as thick and brittle as a cancer patient’s hair.” (Kingsolver 173) Also plagued by poisoned soil and the inability to reproduce, the “fruit hunt” takes place throughout the city, inspiring a stunning and lifeless image. (Kingsolver 63) The very fact that trees are unable to reproduce simply because of their position relative to others is, in itself, a profound symbol of the distance Codi places between himself and others to evade the constant feeling of loss and death all around her. Similarly, during biology class, Codi discovers that the town's river has been severely polluted by a nearby mining plant in "River on the Moon." “Our water was dead. It could also come from a river on the moon,” explains Codi, giving palpable meaning to the chapter title. (Kingsolver 110) The lifeless state of the river bears a great resemblance to Codi's personal ecosystem, as "[the memory of the land] carries with it the idea of ​​home." (Rubenstein 206) The few frogs and fish in the river, bearers of inexplicable life, represent the citizens of Grace, who slowly and unconsciously continue through their days, despite their unchanging and empty environment. The unbroken patterns of blind life, chosen and accepted by many in the city, remain tragic symbols of the absolute death of growth, in mind, body and, ultimately, culture. One of the most focal examples of death.". 187-189