Importance of Water

Water makes an appearance at most life or death moments in Frankie's life, symbolizing a higher power and its gift for creation and destruction. The Spirit of Music says, “How fitting for a child once thrown in the river. Water was also the gateway to Frankie's journey home” (426). Frankie is nearly drowned in a river; the biblical connotation is Moses in a basket, showing the religious imagery of water. Frankie's wife Aurora dies in a Hurricane Katrina-related accident. “Come to the Water” is the song choice at his funeral. The power of life and death and water intersect throughout the book.