Family
Family is one of the most significant themes in Pod. At the novel's start, readers see that the novel's main character, a spinning dolphin named Ea, is a valued member of her pod (family). She has finally grown up, and her family decides that she should learn what it means to be a true spinning dolphin. She learns the customs and more about her family's culture and species. That includes learning how to spin, which Ea quickly discovers she cannot do because of her deafness. Her family loves Ea, but not as much as they perhaps could because of her disability. Ultimately, Ea is ripped away from her family because of her disability. She longs for a family of dolphins who will love and cherish her despite her disability. After all, all that anyone wants is to have some sense of belonging, which families often provide to people.
Dealing with disabilities
Ea is the only dolphin in her pod who has to deal with a disability. Ea has a form of deafness that prevents her from spinning like the rest of her pod. It also prevents her from sensing the danger, which becomes increasingly more common around her. Ea's disability causes her to struggle and makes her feel like an outcast in her community. After her disability causes an accident (which is not her fault), Ea is banished from the community. Ea's community was not familiar with her disability; their misunderstanding caused Ea tremendous grief and made her life much harder. Ultimately, Pod shows the importance of dealing empathetically and compassionately with people with disabilities.
Humanity's destruction of the environment
One of the main conflicts in Pod revolves around humanity's destruction of the environment. In the past, the part of the ocean that Ea and her family lived in was left virtually untouched by humans. However, as humanity's hunger for power and additional material wealth grew, they moved even farther into the previously untouched parts of the ocean, pillaging and destroying the land along the way. Humans do not feel the effects of their actions; Ea and the rest of the ocean ecosystem, however, profoundly feel the impact of human actions. For instance, humans nearly killed Ea in a boat's propeller. Additionally, human pollution affected Ea's ability to hear and hurt many other animals in the ecosystem. If their actions do not change, Pod warns that humanity will destroy the environment and cause it to lose its biodiversity and everything else that makes the Earth so great.
