What I Carry

Longo uses blackbirds to symbolize the novel’s protagonist. Joellen, Muiriel’s social worker and the person who has known her best and longest at the start of the novel, calls her Blackbird—a nickname that reflects her motivation, personality, and habits. The bird’s flight connects to Muiriel’s great desire for freedom. Despite her apprehension about aging out of the foster care system, she longs for the day she will be “[f]inally free to live and take care of [herself] in the wilderness of the wide world” (12). Muiriel also shares a blackbird’s penchant for collecting items that catch their fancy. In Chapter 14, she refers to the pillowcase full of cherished mementos she has gathered over the years as her “blackbird treasure bag” (189). The objects in this collection offer further insight into the protagonist’s character. For example, the thimble represents her efforts to protect herself from being hurt, and the Fruit Stripe gum demonstrates her longing for consistency—a rarity in her life.

Longo also uses blackbirds to symbolically mark places that are of great importance to the protagonist. In Chapter 3, Joellen takes Muiriel to Francine’s house for the first time, and they see “[b]lackbirds, a moving shape of black wings racing silent circles above the house and field” (21).