The Individual versus the Collective

The concept of the needs of the individual versus the needs of the collective is a societal dilemma that prompts questions of a person's right to seek happiness and fulfillment when that comes at a cost to society as a whole. In this novel, Native Americans are the only people who can still dream. While some are fighting for their right to keep their dreams for themselves, some believe they have a duty to give up their marrow – the source of the dreams – for the good of the rest of society.

Those without dreams – sometimes driven to madness – are willing to go to great lengths to take the dreams of the Native Americans. While a young man named French is part of a resistance group fighting against these government facilities where marrow is extracted, there are others who believe the Native Americans...