Spark

Mina’s sketchbook, which often calms her, is a motif that fuels the theme of Discovering Voice Through Courage and Ingenuity. While anxiously waiting for Pixit to hatch, she draws: “Sighing, she curled up against the egg and pulled out her sketchbook and began to draw the egg with its crack. She then drew more cracks, as if that would make it hatch faster” (19). This scene shows that the sketchbook both comforts Mina and becomes a vehicle for expression when she finds it hard to express herself in words. By drawing past, present, or imagined futures, Mina illustrates what is important to her.

Later, on her first night at Mytris, “Mina pulled out her sketchbook and began to draw—pictures of the ship, Mytris, Pixit, and Chauda—until her hands stopped shaking and her heart quit thumping so hard” (87). Here, her drawing functions as a coping mechanism that calms her anxiety. As a result, Mina finds the courage to continue her training.

She also utilizes the sketchbook as a tool for courageous, creative activism. After visiting the outpost, Mina “began to draw the graves […] [and] she wrote the truth […] and then a call to action” (241).