The True Meaning of Smekday

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of racism.



Much of The True Meaning of Smekday is an allegory about the history of European colonization of the Americas and its lasting repercussions. By casting this conflict through the lens of how a child experiences an extraterrestrial occupation, the novel explores the violence, hypocrisy, and repercussions of colonialism in the material lives of the people who experience it.

There are many parallels between the Boov’s colonization and European colonization of the Americas, particularly about topics like forced relocation, assimilation, and Manifest Destiny. After the Boov use violence to quell human resistance, they broadcast a message with justification for their colonization. One point is that it “is their Grand Destiny to colonize new worlds” (60). This is a reference to a widely held belief in early America called “Manifest Destiny,” in which settlers felt divinely ordained to spread west across the continent. This resulted in death, forced displacement, and relocation of millions of indigenous people. Adam Rex parallels this in the book by colonizing Boov moving into the “pretty, empty houses” of the people who flee or are forced out (60).

The Boov initially say that humans “would integrate peacefully into Boov society” (60), abandoning human identity and tradition for Boov ones.