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Chapter 1
Themes
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
Joppy tells Easy that he’s known Albright since before the war, back when Joppy was a moderately successful heavyweight boxer. He describes Albright as a “businessman” who knows how to make money, though not always through legal means. Joppy encourages Easy to take the job, assuring him that Albright will pay at least enough to cover his mortgage if he helps track down the woman Albright is searching for. He insists that Easy doesn’t even have to find the woman—he can just pretend to look. Though Albright reminds Easy of Mouse, an untrustworthy man from his past in Houston, Easy agrees to consider the offer. He hopes the job might help him build a stable life, much like he admires Joppy for having done.
Joppy’s endorsement of Albright complicates the tension already surrounding the job offer, as he also subtly acknowledges Albright’s untrustworthiness. His suggestion that Easy feign effort rather than genuinely search for the woman hints at a questionable moral code, shaped by survival instinct and opportunism. Easy’s comparison of Albright and Mouse reflects his skepticism toward Albright, but the lure of financial stability—and his admiration for Joppy’s apparent success—tempts him to accept the job.
Themes
