And The Earth Did Not Devour Him

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of racism, physical abuse, illness, child death, and death.

The narrator questions religious faith at various points throughout the book, beginning with the first vignette, when he drinks the water his mother leaves for spirits but does not tell her. She continues to leave out water because she believes the spirits are drinking it. However, the boy knows it is he, not the spirits, who is responsible for the water disappearing. Though not explicitly stated, this event may represent a moment of realization, where the narrator recognizes his mother’s belief conflicts with his experience. In Chapter 6, the boy attempts to summon the devil, and nothing happens, leaving him to conclude there is neither devil nor God. The boy and his siblings overhear, in Chapter 6, their parents discuss whether to tell the children there is no Santa Claus, another faith figure, while in Vignette 11, a priest fails to understand the congregation he serves.

Perhaps the most explicit instance of religious skepticism happens in Chapter 7. The boy sees his mother crying after an aunt and uncle have died of tuberculosis. Shortly after, his father falls ill to sunstroke.