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Chapter 13
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Devil in a Blue Dress, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Race and Identity
Power and Corruption
Violence, Justice, and Morality
The American Dream
Summary
Analysis
Driving out of Hollywood, Easy finds himself in conversation with his other “voice,” a persona that emerged during his time in the war. The voice advises him to “bide his time” and lie low until he can piece together the truth about Daphne, Albright, Teran, Howard Green, Coretta, and everyone else tangled up in this complex web of lies. It tells him that running away is not an option. The voice has always instructed Easy how to “survive like a man,” giving him confidence and strength when his own resolve falters. It first appeared when Easy was trapped in a barn outside Normandy, his two comrades killed by a sniper. The voice told him to wait for nightfall and then kill the sniper himself—a move that saved his life.
Easy’s other “voice” is a survival mechanism; its emergence during his most significant wartime experience—a standoff with a sniper—establishes it as a psychological anchor, calming him in times of overwhelm and crisis. Now, the voice reappears as Easy finds himself ensnared in another deadly conflict, reinforcing that his survival depends on patience, calculation, and courage. Reflecting on the voice’s origin, Easy’s internal dialogue underscores the long-term impact of trauma on the human psyche.
Active
Themes
