Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Grain of Wheat, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Colonialism
The Individual vs. the Community
Guilt and Redemption
Christianity
Gender and Power
Summary
Analysis
At a farewell party for John and Margery Thompson, their fellow British workers are reflecting on how fond they are of John due to his dedication and persistence in his work, even though his own government had mistreated him. Dr. Lynd confides to John that she has seen her vengeful houseboy again, but John does not care at all about Dr. Lynd or her worries. After many of the guests have gotten drunk, John and Margery drive aimlessly until she realizes they have stopped at the exact spot where she started her affair with Dr. Van Dyke. She expects an accusation, but finds none, only John reflecting that Africa will never survive without Europe.
The affection felt towards John by his associates despite his role in the murders of eleven detainees—and the feeling that John was mistreated by his government—underscores what little regard for African lives the colonizers have. They seem more bothered by the fact that John was humiliated than the fact that eleven men died, demonstrating the degree to which colonialism dehumanizes its subjects and regards them as expendable or worthless.
Themes
