Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Deadly, Unna?, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Race, Injustice, and Action
Courage and Masculinity
Duty and Sacrifice
Teamwork and Family
Summary
Analysis
Blacky has only seen one dentist in his life. She recommended he go see an orthodontist to straighten his crooked front teeth. Blacky wishes he had a perfect smile, like Dumby’s, instead of teeth that others make fun of. While his mother is hanging up laundry, Blacky asks her how much it costs to go to the orthodontist.
Blacky’s desire for straight teeth emphasizes how much he cares about the opinions of others, although he would like not to. The fact that Blacky has only even seen one dentist in his life also highlights the poverty of his family.
Themes
Mum herself doesn’t have any teeth. Before she got married, she had a beautiful smile. But because eight pregnancies drained the calcium from her body, her teeth all became rotten and she had to have them removed (or at least, that’s what Blacky believes happened). Blacky feels a little guilty for even asking about the orthodontist. Mum tells Blacky to ask his father about going to the orthodontist, but Blacky knows his father will simply say, “Negative.”
Blacky’s mother presents an extreme example of fulfilling one’s duty, which Blacky fears in part because her sacrifice has drained her physically. Notably, Mum is performing a domestic task in this scene, as she always is, showing how she sacrifices nearly all her time to her family duties.
Themes
