Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Children of Virtue and Vengeance, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Power and Systems of Oppression
Cycles of Violence
Tradition and History
Love vs. Duty
Summary
Analysis
Inan holds his bronze coin and thinks that trying for peace is never enough. He flashês on Jokôye’s insistence that her forces would be ready to kill the Iyika. They haven’t found her body yet. Nehanda comforts Ojore and says they must attack now, before the Iyika have a chance to regroup and unleash this kind of horror on Lagos. Inan whispers Saran’s vow, “duty before self,” and thinks that there are no more options: the Iyika must die, even if that means killing Amari and Zélie. Nehanda asks Ojore to summon more soldiers, but Inan says they need to divide and weaken the Iyika so they’ll surrender.
All that Inan and Nehanda see of the moonstone’s power is that it’s very powerful; they don’t see the destruction it causes those using it and so they don’t understand that at this point, Zélie probably won’t try to use it on them again unless she acquires new information. Inan’s acceptance that violence is the only way forward is a consequence of the mistrust and fear that both he and the Iyika have for each other.
Themes
