Poverty
The boy's family suffers from terrible poverty. This is described in great detail by Armstrong, who emphasizes their extreme hunger. As the family are sharecroppers, they make barely enough money to survive. This makes the book a difficult read, as the family seemingly has no escape from this terrible situation.
Injustice
In his desperation, the father of the family steals a ham. He does this in order to stop his family from starving, but he is punished by being subjected to years of jail and hard labor. Overall, this novel shows how little rights people had during this time in history, and how society did not protect its most vulnerable members from starvation and terrible living conditions.
The loyalty of dogs
The text is named after Sounder, the loyal family dog who is injured after protecting the boy's father. We later learn that during the father's arrest, the dog was severely injured. Afterward, he can no longer walk properly and has lost an ear and an eye. After his owner dies, Sounder also dies, which emphasizes Sounder's loyalty to his master.
