My group touched mainly on the themes of lightness versus darkness in relationship to the characters of the novel, the past versus the present and how the members of the MacDonald family have trouble bridging the gap and connecting the two, and a hybrid theme of family, language and music.
Family, language and music are all interrelated in the novel. Gaelic plays a huge role in the identification of Alexander's family and it reminds its members of their Scottish roots.
On page 16, when we first begin to understand the relationship between Alexander and his oldest brother, Calum begins to sing a song in Gaelic, drunkenly. The song is called "Lament for Cape Breton", which also brings into account the family bonds that tie the MacDonald clan together. After Alexander leaves his brother alone, he finds himself finishing the lyrics to the song because it lives "deep within". Alexander states that "...the verses and chorus come easily to my mind...." because they are a part of who he is.
Another example of this theme can be found on page 230; narrating, Alexander explains a time when his grandfather told him that music was the lubricant of the poor and mentions how the Zulus always sing in the miners' compounds and how they "...were one musical people reaching out to join another." This parallels directly with the family in the novel because, like the Zulus, they were displaced and needed aspects like language and song to strengthen and maintain their bonds.
In addition, there is a passage on 271 in which Alexander is visiting his Grandma in a nursing home; she does not remember who he is, but the two are able to recall "O Siud An Taobh A Ghabhainn", a song that contains a verse about the MacDonald clan. Other residents of the home came to join in singing and held hands because they felt such a sense of unity.

Hi,
My group was Me(Lindsey H), Will M., Chris H, and Lauren G. Four themes that we came up with and discussed were the importance of the dogs throughout the novel, the sea, the difference even in the family between the educated and non-educated members and the way the moon is used and referred to as the lamp of the poor. The theme we decided to focus on and select passages about was the sea. This theme is very strong throughout the entire novel in a completely obvious way. The first passage we chose was on page 24 and talks about the death of the wife and then the on ship birth during the passage to North America. This is the first representation where the sea both takes and gives life. Some more passages could be found throughout the pages of 49 to 55 where the narrator's parents and brother are lost beneath the ice and the sea takes their lives. By now it is easily demonstrated how controlling the sea is in the lives of the people. On page 98 the passage discusses the whales the brothers see and are awed by, but then later after the storm they find one dead on shore. The last passage we picked was at the very end of the story on page 280 where the narrator is driving Calum home to the island and the sea is crashing with waves and then there is some calm in the midst of it and Calum passes. Through the sea seems to be a dual symbol of life and death. It is a force that the people cannot often control and therefore have to give respect to. It is a huge part of their lives and without their proximity to it, I am sure those lives would have been completely different. It is a theme that could definitely be furthered explored because it is so vast.

A few of the themes our group touched on were family, language, land and how that contributes to people's identity, and the repeated mention of red and black hair throughout the novel. The major theme we discussed was the repetition of red and black hair because it seemed to be an identification mark for some characters throughout the book and it also seemed to reflect their roots.
The first passage that we looked at is on page 29 when he is explaining how his twin sister tried to dye her hair with a streak of blond. It later goes on to say that no dye could make her hair the same natural color and it never really went away. We thought that this was significant because it shows that you can't always bring back what is natural and that perhaps what is natural is what is important in keeping your true identity.
We also noticed that the color of the hair was a marker in describing certain people. On page 33, for instance, he describes their grandfather with his "neat reddish moustache." And throughout the entire novel Alexander MacDonald is referred to as "the red-haired..."
On page 122 it states Alexander MacDonald's decapitation and how his red blood mixes with his red hair. I'm sure this scene is much more symbolic and our group briefly touched on the fact that his red head in no longer a part of him but it seemed to be one of those key events and that detail was there for a reason.
Lastly, on page 163 his sister is telling him about her journey back to her roots and that the blackness of her hair was one way in which the people identified her as truly being a part of them. This is significant in the sense that the color of hair, in this novel, reflects your roots and allows you to be a part of something that seemed so distant.
I know that I probably missed something that we all discussed and didn't do our discussion any justice. So, if there is anything else that someone wants to add from our group please do.

Our group decided that some of major themes touched upon in this novel include loyalty as represented by the dogs, differences in language, the importance of returning to your homeland, and music as a binding force. The idea of staying true to your family was the theme most prominent in the text as seen in...
Chapter 1, page 14 "'I suppose that's why you're here?' I am caught off guard by the sudden shift, trapped in the net of my own guilt and history"
Chapter 13, page 84 "Sometimes Calum and my brothers were 'saved' from their impetuosity by the members of clann Chalum Ruaidh who rallied to their aid in the distant darkness, and sometimes they themeselves went to the aid of casual cousins and the various causes they espoused."
Chapter 30, page 204 "Finally he asked, 'Is this important to you, 'ille bhig ruaidh'... Ok it's important to me too. Grandma used to say, 'Always look after your own blood,' and she used to say to you and your sister, 'If I did not believe that, where would you two be?'"

Our group discussed the theme of 'home'. This theme weaves its way throughout the entire book in many different ways. Some refer to the comfortability of being home, family ties and such, while others indicate an emptiness or sadness. The first passage we found intriguing is halfway down page 74. "Perhaps they were embarrassed by the fact that the bathroom was a bucket or sometimes not even that; that in the hot summer nights, after drinking beer they would raise their upstairs windows..." We thought that this passage illustrated a chasm growing between the younger siblings who lived with their grandparents, and the older siblings who lived on their own. The next passage that caught our eye was on pages 194-5. Alexander's sister is describing what she does at the airport if she has enough time. She visits the departure gates for east coast flights. "I have no real reason for going except that I want to be in the presence of those people..." We thought that her sister seemed out of the family loop, except this passage shows that she does express an interest to connect to her home. We concluded that for her, home is not the place, but the people she is surrounded by. The last passage we discussed is on 283, the second to last paragraph. "This is the man who carried me on his shoulders when I was three. Carried me across the ice from the island, but could never carry me back again." We thought of this as a way of describing Calum and Alexander's connection to the island, their home. When they finally were able to return to the island, the opposite happens, Alexander 'carries' Calum to the island. (with the help of a car)

Our group touched on the idea of loyalty as a major theme for the book, with three distinct sub-themes under that. As Skylar above points out, the dogs definitely fit part of that theme, as do horses as well. One quote we really liked that touched upon the horse's loyalty was on Page 11 - "Ah, poor Christy. How she always kept her part of the bargain."

A major symbol of loyalty that kept popping up throughout the novel is the idea of a V formation. The V is formed by the group working as a whole, with the group pointing to the leader at the tip of the V. Some examples of the V:

• Pg. 23 – “…her head cutting a V through the water and her anxious eyes upon the departing family she considered as her own.”

• Pg. 25 – “like the goose who points the V, and he temporarily wavered and lost his courage.”

• Pg. 260 – “When the Canada geese fly north in spring, there is a leader who points the way, a leader at the apex of the V as the formation moves across the land.”