Bluebird, Bluebird

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2017

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Symbols & Motifs

Blues Music

The Blues is a musical genre that was created in the American South in the 1860s by Black Americans. It was birthed out of enslaved persons’ work songs and spirituals, and echoes those songs in tone and style with sad, often mournful dirge-like themes featuring repetition and call and response elements. The influence of the Blues has made its way into almost all forms of modern music including jazz, rock and roll, and hip hop. The narrative is infused with the sounds and emotions of the Blues from the epigraph to the end, as well as making the musical genre a crucial part of the plot. It becomes the soundtrack of a tale of love and sadness in a community torn apart by racial hatred. In the music’s lyrics and forlorn bass notes, the characters find comfort and a safe place to grieve what has been lost.

The soulful music of the blues informs the title as it comes from the lyrics of a song by John Lee Hooker, “Bluebird, bluebird, take this letter down South for me […]” (129). The song speaks of love and loss echoing many of the themes in the novel. The musical genre also becomes a central plot point as it is Michael’s uncle and blues band member that sends him to Lark where he meets his demise. The guitar belonging to blues legend and husband to Geneva Sweet, Joe “Petey Pie,” stands as an emblem of the role music played in his life and the grief Geneva feels at his sudden loss. The roots of the musical style run deep in Texas and its lyrics and emotion are woven into the very fabric of the story.

Star

From an ancient Celtic symbol to a modern sign of distinction, the five-pointed star has been an emblem often used in art and culture. King Arthur’s legendary Knights of the Round Table wore the pentangle on their shields to symbolize the five wounds of Christ and the five knightly virtues. The star has become a part of the iconography of major world religions such as Judaism and is featured on many country and state flags. The symbol is used as a sign of distinction in sports and education, as high achievement is awarded a gold star or medal featuring the shape. In Bluebird, Bluebird, the star is employed in several ways, but none as prominent as the star-shaped badge Texas Ranger Darren Mathews wears on his shirt. For Darren, the badge has become a part of his identity as a Texan and officer of the law, and when his reputation as both is in jeopardy, he finds himself unraveling.

Texas, known as the “Lone Star State” for its history as an independent republic, is the home of Darren Mathews. Though Darren spent a brief time in Chicago while attending law school, he has always seen Texas as not just the place of his birth, but as a geographic location woven into the fabric of his being. Darren is raised by his two uncles who also become influencing factors in the man that he becomes, particularly his uncle William, who was the first Black Texas Ranger. Darren sees at an early age the power of the Ranger badge and he longs to have the same distinction and respect. Darren feels responsible for continuing William’s legacy, as “He’d felt such a stab of guilt after his uncle William’s death […] the man he considered his North Star, the light by which his life was guided” (145). For Darren, the Ranger badge bearing the star of the Great Seal of Texas denotes his status as the highest order of law in the state and represents his deep love for William. The star Darren wears suggests power and independence, yet at times he is weighed down by it, burdened with the fear he is not living up to the expectations of his uncle or the rich history of the oldest law enforcement association in the country. Darren makes the fatal flaw many have made, allowing a symbol to become too much of who they are, instead of it just being a source of guidance.

Memory

The power of memory is harnessed in two ways in the novel. First, it functions as a narrative device as flashbacks are employed in the characters’ minds to give context and history to the story. Interspersed with present moments, these flashbacks are powerful and often reveal prominent details necessary to understanding the plot and unraveling the mystery. These details also give depth to the characters, unearthing past trauma or experiences that have shaped who they are and have led to the choices they have made in life. For Darren, the memories can often be painful and disorienting, coming at times when he must be mentally present. His past is an important part of who he is, but he relies on it too heavily for emotional escape keeping him from fully accepting the present.

Memories are manipulated to humanize the characters. Darren’s memories of his uncles and their life together on the family land in Camilla often sustain him in times of stress and anxiety, and demonstrate the depths of his complicated personality. Darren’s past informs his present choices. By probing the memories of Randie, Keith, Wally, Geneva and finally Isaac, depth and texture are added to the story, making it about more than just solving a mystery, but about truly understanding what makes a person human. By interweaving memories into the narrative, the linear timeline is interrupted creating a sense of reality as turbulent and murky as the human connections revealed in the story.