Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Brief History of Seven Killings, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Violence vs. Peace
Masculinity, Sexuality, and Homophobia
Jamaican Culture and Identity
Politics, Power, and Corruption
Witness and Storytelling
Summary
Analysis
Barry didn’t realize that Doctor Love was in Jamaica. Barry is at the American embassy, in the process of revoking the Singer’s visa on the accusation of drug trafficking. All they will have to do to prove this is “check his back pocket.” Barry reflects once more on his hatred for Bill Adler, as well as his suspicion of Louis Johnson on account of the fact that Louis comes as a “package deal” with Doctor Love. Barry feels that Jamaica is “swarming with fucking Cubans.” He opens Doctor Love’s file, mentally going over all the recent explosions in the Caribbean that he believes are Doctor Love’s responsibility.
The network of political alliances and antagonisms in the novel is so complex that it can be difficult to track. Barry Diflorio and Louis Johnson both work for the CIA, but Barry distrusts Louis; Doctor Love was trained by the CIA but is not officially affiliated with it, and Bill Adler was officially affiliated but is now an enemy of the Company because of the exposé he wrote, which betrayed Barry and others.
Themes
Although Jamaica is overrun with crime, it is mostly conveyed to downtown; when people commit crime uptown they do so to “make a very unsubtle point.” Back in the car, Barry’s wife had asked what he was doing in Jamaica, accusing the CIA of always being “up to no good.” Barry recited the official memo detailing the CIA’s reasons for being in Jamaica, but his wife replied that this didn’t explain anything.
The secrecy involved in being employed by the CIA infiltrates Barry’s family, putting his relationship with his wife under considerable strain. Indeed, this is one of many ways in which working for the CIA keeps Barry from leading a normal life.
Themes
