Esch's development and Katrina Connections

Throughout Salvage the Bones we watch Esch take steps to becoming a woman and coming to accept that she is a mother.  At the beginning of the book Esch is taken advantage of by her family and her brother’s friends. She slowly realizes that she is important and should not be over looked. A big development in this idea is when she forces many to look at her when they are having sex. “He will look at me,” Esch thinks, when she finally gets Manny to look at her she believes that he truly sees her (145-146). Throughout the book Esch went through a lot of changes and experiences that will help prepare her for both womanhood and motherhood. She also finds she should not be over looked.

Katrina can be seen as both a destructive and cleansing force.  Katrina can also be seen as a feminine power. You can see the way the male characters think of women through the way they address Katrina. Motherhood was an important theme in the book and while reading I made the connection between motherhood and Katrina.  Katrina can be seen as a mother-like character because it is part of Mother Nature. The Batiste family was nowhere near ready for Katrina even with how hard their father had tried to prepare. I believe that a connection between this and Katrina can be used to show you are never truly ready for motherhood no matter how much you try.