Stolen

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses suicide and kidnapping.

The camel is a central symbol in the novel that represents Gemma’s captivity. The camel, captured and tethered in the harsh Australian Outback and separated from her herd and the world she knows, mirrors Gemma's own situation as she too is forcibly taken from her familiar life and held against her will in an unforgiving environment.

Ty involves Gemma in the act of capturing the camel, making her complicit in the camel's confinement. This parallels how Gemma, over time, becomes entangled in her own captivity, struggling between resistance and moments of reluctant cooperation with Ty. As she helps Ty lasso the camel, she unwittingly participates in a scenario that mirrors her own loss of freedom, highlighting the complexity of her situation where survival instincts often blur the lines between victim and accomplice. The camel pushes back against her captivity using the tools she has, throwing up on Ty in an expression of her anger and fear. This moment parallels the moment when Gemma urinates on Ty as he tackles her and drags her back to the complex.

Ultimately, the camel's adaptation to captivity reflects Gemma's own journey. Initially wild and resistant, the camel gradually becomes more docile, much like Gemma, who starts to adapt to her new reality, learning to navigate the harsh landscape and developing a reluctant dependence on Ty.