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
Audrey wakes up in Ed’s bed the next morning and he serves her breakfast. Before she says goodbye, she tells Ed that he knows her better than anyone and she feels the most comfortable around him. After she leaves, Ed feels like he is in physical pain. For the rest of the day, Ed thinks about how the young man from last night suggested Ed was not the only one receiving missions. He wonders if that man, Daryl, and Keith are also receiving instructions from an outside source.
Ed’s revelation that others could be receiving similar messages shows his expanding empathy as a character as a result of helping others. In a sense, this experience may even provide Ed with the community he lacked, though that community seems to be taking an unexpected shape.
Themes
That night, Ed leaves his dog at home and walks to the restaurant on Clown Street. He feels anxious, worrying that this will be one of his difficult missions. He asks for a table at the restaurant and sits in the back corner. After ordering dinner, he surveys the other customers. He notices an older man sitting alone at the next table. Then the man’s date arrives, and Ed realizes the date is Ed’s own mother, looking more dressed up and feminine than Ed has ever seen.
Ed’s own mother being the person he needs to help suggests that the broader purpose of helping others can lead one to support those with whom they have the closest relationships. Of course, this revelation also suggests that perhaps this really will be one of the hard missions, since Ed has long-standing conflicts with his mother.
Themes
Ed’s mother’s date is dressed nicely and acts like a gentleman. Ed cannot help but think about his dead father. Ed states that while his father was an alcoholic, he was still nice and gentlemanly. Ma used to yell at her husband when he came home drunk and nag him during the day. Ed remembers how his father used to take him and his siblings to the park, and on those days, Ed saw his father as a hero. Ed continues to watch his mother on her date and feels increasingly angrier because, he realizes, she is happy with someone and he himself is alone.
Ed’s memories of his parents’ relationship show a lack of empathy for his mother, as he does not see why a woman would be angry that the father of her children is frequently drunk. In order to help his mother, Ed will likely need to develop a more empathic understanding of her situation. What’s more, Ed still views success in life as defined by one’s romantic relationships, as shown here when he feels that his mother is more successful than he is because she’s on a date.
Themes
