Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in I Am the Messenger, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Circumstance vs. Choice
Heroism, Sainthood, and Ordinariness
Purpose, Success, and Meaning
Hope, Caring, and Beauty
Summary
Analysis
Sunday night, Father O’Reilly comes over to Ed’s house. Speechless, the Father places his hands on Ed’s shoulders and gazes into his eyes. Ed witnesses a sense of peace and holiness come across the Father’s face. Ed realizes that the Father is unused to thanking people, because he is usually the one helping others. Ed tells the Father not to worry and they enjoy a moment of silent happiness between them.
Ed telling the Father not to worry shows that one should commit acts of caring not for expectation of being thanked, but because caring is the moral thing to do. Caring is especially valuable when done for a person who always cares for others, such as Father O’Reilly.
Themes
The police come to Ed’s house with cleaning supplies for the graffiti around town. Ed finds himself, late at night, wiping paint off the road. He asks God, “Why me?” but receives no response. Ed laughs and appreciates his life.
Notably, Ed does not ask “Why me?” in a negative tone, as he usually does when he laments fate. By learning to appreciate his own life, Ed has come to view the forces of fate—whatever they might be—as positive rather than negative.
Themes
