Towards the end of the story, Chris’s attitude is different than the rest of the story. Rather than being cold to his mum, the story ends on quite affectionate note. He “tenderly” brushes some off the ashes off her which is the first time he appears to show any affection towards her. He also thinks “He wishes he’d told her she looks nice” which contradicts his thoughts of her stubbornness that she didn’t wear something combatable. 

Chris, our main character, along with his mother are making a trip to a camping ground to spread the ashes of Chris’ deceased father. Ashes tells the story of Chris’ family and their journey to the campsite along with the spreading of the ashes. Chris’ relationship with his mother is revealed to be complicated due to Chris’ homosexuality unbeknownst to his mother. Ashes explores the tension between the characters and how Chris’ inability to discuss his homosexuality with his mother, creating a rift between them. 

Kennedy is trying to show how a familial relationship like this one can crumble and burn to ash, but alludes that such a relationship can rise from said ashes, and emphasises the importance of familial relationships despite division between morals or lives. Chris’ homosexuality has proven to alienate himself from his family due to his fear of coming out. Kennedy reveals through Chris’ father’s dying moments what toll this could have on his family, inviting speculation on the story that would have been written had Chris told his mother the truth.

Ashes teaches us to treasure the bonds that we hold with our families, but not to change who you are because of them.

She uses a cold and indirect tone, besides when she is giving him instructions. The underlying cause is her personality, and the fact that he is gay. There is a lot of friction between their interaction, until later in the story, when Chris sees past the fussiness of his mother

2. Chris remembers being mean to his father on pages 31 and 3 What effect does revealing his part to play in the breakdown of their relationship at this point of the story have on the reader’s understanding of Chris’ mental state?

 
That he is mad and that he feels guilty because he shouldn’t have been mean to his dad and not have as much time to make it right. Then having a feel of guilt and regret flowing in the back of his head knowing that he will not be able to say anything to his dad again and that he took his time with him for granted  

 3. How does this realisation mirror the change in his feelings about his mum?

 That he doesn’t want to make the same mistake with his mum as he did with his dad and to learn from his mistake. Even though his mum can be annoying to him at times she is still his mum and he now knows that that is precious and that he can’t take that for granted.

4. Discuss the use of italics – what is this representing? What is the intended effect? 

Italics are used to represent Chris’s inner thought, what he is thinking. It helps to distinguish between the socially acceptable things that Chris is saying, and the things that he is thinking, which allows him an output for his frustration without starting an argument with his mother.

5. Discuss the structure of the narrative.

The book is broken up into short paragraphs, separated by one-two lines of dialogue. Occasionally, a larger body of text is put in to discuss something in more depth.