Politics, Power, and Corruption Theme Analysis

Much of the novel centers around the political history of Jamaica in the post-independence period, and two general elections serve as major climaxes in the plot. The first takes place in 1976, won by the People’s National Party (PNP), and the second in 1980, in which the Jamaican Labour Party (JLP) is victorious. Both elections involve a surge in violence, emphasizing that politics is an extremely charged issue in Jamaica. This is in part due to the fact that the neighborhoods in the Kingston ghetto are defined not only by gang affiliation, but support for a particular political party. This makes electoral politics a more personal issue for ordinary Jamaicans than we might assume, and also emphasizes a fundamental similarity between political parties and gangs, which are both shaped by backstabbing, corruption, and a merciless desire for power.

The residents of the Kingston ghetto show a level of loyalty for both gangsters and politicians that can seem surprising, considering they are shown to be ill-served by both. Extreme levels of gang violence mean that life in the Kingston ghetto is very dangerous, and the power of the gangs means that everyone is implicated in this violence, even those who attempt to keep to themselves or escape the ghetto (such as the promising high school student killed by Papa-Lo). Meanwhile, politicians make paltry efforts to court the loyalty of the Kingston poor, such as by distributing packets of Uncle Ben’s rice in the lead up to elections. Because the residents of the Kingston ghetto are so impoverished and disenfranchised, even this small gesture is persuasive. However, once they are elected, politicians do not truly work to serve the people. As Josey Wales observes of Peter Nasser, politicians tend to confuse representing people with owning them. On the other hand, the fact that Josey is the one to make this remark is ironic, considering that the same could be said of dons like himself. 

The cooperation between the political parties and gangs who effectively co-run the country is a striking example of corruption. While politicians and gang members might seem different on the surface, the novel makes clear that they are in fact united by a main shared characteristic: the desire for authority, control, and power, seemingly at any cost. Seven Killings portrays Jamaica as rampantly corrupt, but this corruption is not limited to the realm of politics. Like politicians, the police are also under the control of the gangs that run Kingston. In one of the most disturbing passages of the novel, Josey Wales crashes into a bus, and without realizing who Josey is, the bus driver begins loudly fuming. When a woman screams that the man is Josey Wales, the bus driver speeds off toward a police station, but when Josey arrives, the police refuse to do anything and simply watch as Josey kills the driver at the station’s doorstep. This incident reveals the extent of Josey’s power, which at this point exceeds the power of the police and government. The government’s allegiance to Josey, and the police force’s fear of him, mean that they both fail to perform their duty to protect ordinary people from gang violence.

Yet while the novel depicts Jamaican society as being overrun by corruption, it also makes clear that corruption is hardly confined to the island. Throughout the narrative, the presence of the “the Company,” (i.e., the CIA) lingers ominously in the background, evidence of the American effort to steer Jamaica away from socialism after the election of the socialist PNP Prime Minister Michael Manley. Various characters, including Barry Diflorio, Louis Johnson, and Doctor Love, have been sent to Jamaica by the CIA, and it is clear that their actions do not make Jamaica a safer or better place; Louis and Doctor Love supply guns to Josey’s gang so they can kill the Singer, and Doctor Love sets off bombs in the Eight Lanes.

Similarly, when the setting of the novel shifts to New York City, the pervasive drug-related gang violence suggests that the same problems of corruption plaguing Jamaica exist in the US, and that the American political system is similarly ineffective in bringing about positive change. For example, Tristan mentions to Alex that Josey likely won’t kill him because killing a white person would draw the attention of the American authorities, whereas the deaths of black people are largely met with disinterest. Furthermore, when Josey is finally imprisoned and set to be extradited to the United States, he is confident that he will get a light sentence in exchange for giving the American government information that will help them make further arrests. Although it is debatable whether or not such a bargain is justifiable, it highlights the extent to which Josey continues to exercise a kind of power over governmental authorities even after being incarcerated. Indeed, the notion that gangs have more power than the government is further confirmed when Josey is killed by the Medellín cartel, thereby robbing the American government of an informant and overstepping their ability to carry out justice. Ultimately, Josey’s death reinforces a sense of similarity between gangs and governmental authorities, emphasizing the corruption and betrayal that characterize all struggles for power.