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
The man in Weeper’s bed asks if he’s going to answer the phone, and Weeper replies no. They begin to have sex again, but when the man calls Weeper beautiful, Weeper tells him to shut up. The man can tell that Weeper is holding in his moans and tells him to let them out. Although they are five floors up, Weeper is still paranoid about someone seeing him be penetrated. The phone rings, and once again Weeper ignores it. He tells himself that when Josey arrives in New York he will see that Weeper is doing such a good job running things that he won’t bother finding out about who he’s been having sex with.
Tension is created by the fact that Weeper believes he is doing an excellent job running things, when in fact Josey is trying to get through to him to ask why he has messed up so much. It is unlike the highly intelligent Weeper not to notice that business has taken a turn for the worse. Perhaps he is so distracted by his drug use and his new exploration of his sexuality that he no longer pays much attention to business.
Themes
After Weeper and the man have finished, the phone rings once again and the man answers. Weeper takes it; it’s Eubie. Eubie says the plan has changed and that he will now collect Josey from the airport. In addition, Josey now wants to check out the operation in Bushwick. Eubie tells Weeper to meet them there.
Eubie proves himself to be a skilled manipulator. Although him collecting Josey from the airport (instead of Weeper) may seem like a minor thing, in reality it represents a major shift in the power dynamic between the men.
Themes
