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Chapter 13
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Diamond Boy, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Manhood and Growing Up
Family and Friendship
Corruption and Violence in Zimbabwe
Identity and Storytelling
Summary
Analysis
Inside, Patson tells the woman sitting behind the counter that he’s here to see Boubacar. She makes a phone call and soon, Boubacar appears. Once Boubacar has taken Patson back into the building, Patson asks for help selling some ngodas—Patson hasn’t told his Uncle James or his father about them. Boubacar scolds Patson for taking this risk and demands the whole story. Patson tells him everything, ending by saying that he has to get his family out of the tobacco shed. He offers Boubacar the tin of stones. Boubacar agrees to help, if Patson “behave[s] like a man in there and speak[s] the truth.”
Boubacar essentially forces the issue of Patson’s coming of age. He seems to recognize that Patson’s reasons for selling the ngodas, and keeping secrets from Uncle James and his father, are noble and not just selfish. Still, Boubacar’s scolding suggests that Patson has been acting immaturely all this time by landing himself in this situation in the first place. Now, Patson must “behave like a man” in order to fix it.
Active
Themes
Boubacar leads Patson into an office. The Baron, Farouk Abdullah, is sitting behind a desk examining stones. When Boubacar insists Patson is trustworthy, the Baron inspects Patson’s stones, deems them all very low quality, and offers Patson $100. But remembering his father’s advice to use logic to win arguments, Patson shares that the army is coming—and when they arrive, it’s going to be harder to get diamonds out of the fields. Taking his tin, Patson suggests he’ll find a dealer at the Dairy Den who will work with him while he has the opportunity. Sighing, the Baron tells Patson to sit down and asks Boubacar to bring tea and biscuits; they’re going to negotiate.
Even as Patson is growing apart from his father in important ways, his father’s wisdom and teachings still greatly influence Patson. So, he uses his father’s advice here to advocate for a fairer deal from the Baron. The fact that the Baron is taking Patson seriously at all (and not just stealing the stones, as the gwejana syndicate feared might happen) supports the idea that in some ways, Patson has come of age—his maturity is obvious enough that powerful adults are willing to take him seriously.
Active
Themes
While the Baron describes each stone’s qualities to Patson, Boubacar brings a dainty tea set and serves Patson and the Baron. They begin to haggle on a price for the diamonds, and the Baron suggests they set up a permanent arrangement: Patson can take stones to Boubacar, and the Baron will keep their dealings a secret from James Banda. Patson trusts Boubacar and, noticing an almost imperceptible nod, Patson agrees to the arrangement. The Baron insists on paying $2,000 for the stones as a woman screams downstairs.
Active
Themes
