59 pages • 1-hour read
This Book Will Bury Me
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Symbols & Motifs
True-Crime Podcasts and Television Shows
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.
True-crime podcasts and television shows are a motif that helps the author to explore The Ethics of True Crime—in particular, how various forms of media depict high-profile murder cases. For instance, Jane and her group watch several episodes from a popular crime show called Nina Grace that is self-consciously modeled after the real-life true-crime television host Nancy Grace. These episodes are sensationalistic and center the graphic nature of the crimes rather than the humanity of the victims. The dehumanization of murder victims bothers Jane, and on more than one occasion, she criticizes shows like Nina Grace for the nature of their coverage.
The novel also shows media such as true-crime podcasts to be sources of potential misinformation. Although the group uses an appearance on the Murder Junkies podcast to crowdsource and does ultimately uncover the identity of one of the victim’s childhood friends, podcasts like Murder Junkies also publish information that is not yet official. Several suspects prove to be false leads but become targets of harassment campaigns because they are the subject of media attention. This suggests that the ratings that often drive true-crime coverage also deemphasize moral considerations, potentially endangering the lives of individuals close to an investigation.
The Group’s Signal Chat
The group’s Signal chat symbolizes The Need for Friendship and Belonging. Jane is an anxious, introverted student with few personal relationships and has never belonged to a group of friends. The friendship that she develops with Lightly, Mistress, Goku, and Citizen becomes her only real experience of belonging, and that experience intensifies when they invite her to join their private Signal chat. Although the group has ostensibly come together because of their unique abilities to solve complex cases, their cohesion is ultimately about more than true crime. Each member of the group has experienced loss and socializes more online than they do in person. The hours that they spend video chatting gradually increase until their Signal chats take up the entirety of their free time.
The connections that develop as a result are genuine. Lightly becomes a surrogate father figure to Jane, and she looks up to him even when their ethics diverge. Mistress, too, becomes a mentor for Jane. The two share meaningful, personal details from their lives, and Mistress helps Jane to better understand her reasons for becoming an amateur sleuth. Goku becomes a kind of brother to Jane, and the respect that he has for her sleuthing skills helps prop up her shaky self-esteem. Jane even forges a real connection with Citizen; though she ultimately decides to orchestrate his death, she reflects on how well they understand each other.
Jane’s Father’s Ashes
The cremated remains of Jane’s father symbolize Jane’s struggle with grief, developing the theme of The Human Desire for Answers and Explanations. Her attachment to the ashes, which she incorporates into a shrine to her father’s memory, goes beyond honoring a deceased loved one. Rather, it reflects her inability to make peace with the circumstances surrounding her father’s death, which seem inexplicable to her. Instead of working through her loss, she therefore channels her frustration and grief into solving crimes—something that the ashes’ placement near her computer suggests.
The symbolism surrounding the ashes evolves in tandem with Jane’s character development. When Jane and Lightly meet in person, he gives her an urn he crafted for the ashes. Besides demonstrating Lightly’s care for Jane, the moment highlights the life she is beginning to build for herself beyond her father’s death; her interest in true crime may have begun as a coping mechanism, but it has yielded real friendships. At the end of the novel, Jane and her mother bring her father’s ashes to Italy, underscoring that Jane has finally processed her grief and let go of her need for answers.
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