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Chapter 1
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in I Am David, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Freedom and Identity
Intelligence vs. Morality
Survival and Meaning
God and Religion
Childhood
Summary
Analysis
David is struck by the idea that people have eyes in order to see beauty—not the ugliness of the camp. After staring a long time, he gets up and finds a nearby tree-lined stream, where he uses his soap to clean himself and his clothes of the filth that he associates with the camp. Cleansed of the camp’s filth, he feels like himself: “he was David, his own master, free.”
David’s idea that human eyes are for seeing beauty emphasizes that, for him, life should have a higher purpose than mere survival. Meanwhile, later in the passage, David symbolically washes himself clean of the camp and then declares his identity, suggesting that—at least for David—being “free” and one’s “own master” is essential to authentic self-expression.
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Themes
David goes looking for a better hiding place. Eventually, he comes to a road beyond which he sees unpopulated hills: a good hiding place, but only if he can cross the road undetected. Afraid, he hesitates—and spies an orange sphere in the grass, which he picks up. Then, once and for all, he resolves to cross the road. On the other side, he realizes that this was the first survival decision he made consciously rather than just obeying his physical instincts. Satisfied, he decides to act consciously from now on.
The orange sphere that David picks up is, presumably, an orange (the fruit). His inability to recognize a common fruit illustrates the extreme deprivation he experienced in the prison camp and his resulting ignorance of the free world. Meanwhile, his decision to cross the road shows him moving past a merely physical survival instinct and taking personal ownership of his decisions.
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David crosses a small gorge using an abandoned plank of wood and takes shelter in a cave, from which he can observe the road while hiding. In the cave, David peels and eats the insides of the orange sphere, which he enjoys. Then he tries to eat the peel but finds it disgusting. Frustrated, he wonders how he can successfully elude his captors when he’s so ignorant. He resolves to remember everything Johannes ever hold him and everything he overheard the other prisoners say about the world outside the camp.
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Remembering how the prisoners would carefully plan attempted escapes, David decides to use his incomplete knowledge to carefully plan out and then execute all his actions. He lists his own virtues: he’s strong and observant, he doesn’t need much food, and he can recognize duplicity and death from his interactions with “them.” He has also learned several languages, including Italian, from other prisoners in the camp. On the other hand, he doesn’t know much geography or much about how free people behave. Abruptly, he decides to sneak into the nearest town and observe people’s behavior.
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Themes
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David wonders whether “they” are actually hunting for him. The problem is, he doesn’t know why they imprisoned him. They imprison freethinkers, but he was so young when they imprisoned him that he doesn’t think that could apply to him. They also imprison Jewish people, but Johannes didn’t believe David was Jewish. It might not be that important to them to find David again—but, on the other hand, it might be. Thinking about his unknown history, David realizes he should come up with a “story” to tell people if they ask about him.
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In the town, David is shocked by people’s good cheer, “beautiful” laughter, and handsomeness, so different from the appearance of the camp prisoners. He is reassured that no one takes notice of him. When one woman throws away a newspaper, he stealthily retrieves it to practice reading later. Then he wanders into a square where he sees a large structure with a tower. At first, he’s afraid it’s a guard building with a “searchlight,” but then he sees a bell and realizes, from what Johannes once told him, that it’s a church. David not only finds the church “beautiful” but senses it has a “meaning for him” he can’t yet fathom.
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David decides to go back to his cave. On the way, he stops outside a bakery and stares at the bread. A man exits the bakery and offers David a loaf. At first, David assumes the offer is a nasty trick—but, realizing that the man’s friendly, none-too-bright face reminds him of the sailor’s, David remembers how Johannes and other prisoners had taught him that “some good people” did exist. He thanks the man, takes the bread, and quickly departs.
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The next morning, David reads the newspaper he salvaged. When he sees the word “king,” he vaguely recalls that the adult prisoners’ talk suggested that countries with kings were “free.” Unfortunately, David doesn’t know where those countries are.
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For the next three days, David visits the town. On the third day, he passes a woman sitting outside, holding a baby boy. David stares at the baby in astonishment. The woman, amused, asks whether David doesn’t find the baby “beautiful.” Overwhelmed by the helpless baby’s apparent lack of “fear,” David warns the woman to keep very careful watch over the fragile boy lest he die before he can “look after himself.” At first, the woman looks alarmed. Then, in a soothing voice, she assures David that she will. David doesn’t know why she would try to soothe him when it’s the baby that needs to be protected.
David sprints back to his cave, falls asleep, and has nightmares about harm coming to the baby that David himself is “too stupid” and ignorant to prevent. The next morning, David wonders whether he should go protect the baby, since the woman seemed unaware of the world’s dangers. As he ponders the correct course of action, he tells himself that he must always do “the right thing”—lest he lose his morality and become “like them.”
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David is about to go find the baby when a voice tells him to keep thinking. After some thought, he still believes it is “right” to protect the baby but concludes that he isn’t the “right” protector, since he’s so ignorant. Then he realizes that the woman was likely the baby’s mother. Since mothers “always care[] for their children,” the woman will be an adequate protector. David decides that he must not only do the right thing but also “think carefully” before doing anything. He also wonders why he didn’t notice any babies in town before. He once overheard Johannes mournfully calling him “intelligent,” but he wonders how that can be true if he’s unobservant.
David, having seen a notice about a circus in town, has decided to say he’s from a circus if anyone asks. That evening, he goes into town to observe. While hiding and eavesdropping, he overhears the baker ask some people whether they know the boy whom he sometimes gives bread. When a woman says the boy has “strange-looking eyes” and suggests they should question him about his background, David flees. Back at the cave, he decides to leave the area before “they” find him. Briefly, he wonders what the woman meant about his eyes. Then he packs his things and heads north.
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