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
Ed and everyone else in the bank can tell that the robber is hopelessly bad at committing robbery. What’s worse, according to Ed, is the fact that his friend Marv’s car is running out of time in a 15-minute parking spot. Lying facedown on the floor while the robber wields a gun, Ed and Marv discuss the parking ticket Marv is going to receive. Ed says the car is not even worth paying a ticket on, which infuriates Marv because he loves his rundown car. Ed and Marv argue over the car until the bank robber asks who is talking.
Ed’s misplaced concerns show how little value he places on his own life; he cares more about a parking ticket than being involved in an armed robbery. Ed’s complaints about both the parking spot and the hopeless bank robber introduce his pessimistic attitude, where he believes that unfortunate situations constantly arise for reasons that are beyond his control.
Themes
Angry and undeterred by the bank robber’s threats, Marv continues to argue with Ed about the car and eventually shouts at the robber to hurry up. Ed can tell that Marv is about to completely lose his temper. He looks over at his other friends, Ritchie, who is hiding under the bank’s children’s play table, and Audrey, who lying with her foot on Ed’s leg.
Marv’s irritation in this dangerous scenario shows that he is reckless and immature, perhaps because he seems to have no other responsibilities on his mind other than his car. This shows how one can act carelessly toward their life if they do not feel that it has a greater purpose.
Themes
Ed feels sorry for the bank teller, whose nametag reads Misha, as the robber points the gun at her. As Marv and Ed continue to bicker, the bank robber asks, even angrier, who is still talking. Marv, as a joke, responds that Ed Kennedy is talking. Ed takes this opportunity to introduce himself to the reader as an average 19-year-old underaged cabdriver with no career prospects in his suburban town. He also wants the reader to know he is horrible at both sex and taxes.
Ed’s immediate mention of his lack of career prospects shows how he believes a person is identified by their career success, or lack of it. His specific mention of his suburban town also shows how he believes his circumstances have determined his fate. His comment about being horrible at sex also highlights how common it is to evaluate success in terms of sexual prowess as well as career success.
Themes
The bank robber threatens to shoot Ed, who chastises Marv for calling attention to him. The bank robber yells at Ed to shut up, but Ed continues ranting against Marv for joking around at a time like this. The robber becomes fed up and storms over to where Ed, Marv, and Audrey are lying on the ground. The robber presses his gun into Ed’s face. Ed determines the robber must be angry at the world for making him so ugly.
Ed’s choice to notice that the bank robber is ugly, instead of worrying about his life or the gun, shows that he is a person who looks for the ugliness in life. This pessimistic point of view colors many of Ed’s observations at this early stage of the novel.
Themes
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The bank robber asks which one of the hostages is Ed, and Ed points at Marv. Marv, unafraid of the incompetent robber, realizes he recognizes the man. Ed, Audrey, and Ritchie all tell Marv to stop talking. The bank robber becomes more agitated at all the voices and asks Marv if he has a death wish. Marv argues that he only wishes for the robber to pay his parking ticket.
Marv’s first priority is his car. Because that priority creates no deeper meaning for Marv, he is reckless and careless with both his life and the lives of others, as shown by his continued agitation of the armed gunman. This incident further emphasizes the potentially dire consequences of a purposeless life.
Themes
Suddenly, the robber sees the police arrive and his getaway car speed off. The robber responds by demanding Marv hand over his own car keys, and Marv complies. As the robber flees, he drops the gun at the bank entrance. The robber tries and fails many times to start Marv’s old car. For reasons he himself does not know, Ed picks up the robber’s gun and runs out to the car. He points the gun at the robber, who attempts to run away. Next thing Ed knows, he has fired the gun.
Ed’s uncertainty about his motivations suggests that he is not fully in control of his own actions. This uncertainty about motivations brings the heroism of Ed’s actions into question, because he may not be truly heroic if he is not acting intentionally or if some unknown outside force is controlling his decisions.
Themes
Ed hears sirens. The robber, uninjured but now caught, collapses. Ed feels sorry for the robber and the series of misfortunes which led him to being arrested, including holding up a bank filled with people as stupid as Ed and his friends and trying to start Marv’s horrible car. As the cops lead the robber away, Ed continues to antagonize Marv about his car, while Ed still holds the warm gun in his hand.
Ed pity for the robber’s misfortune suggests that Ed believes an individual’s life is determined by luck. He does not hold the robber accountable for his decision to rob the bank or for committing the crime ineptly, showing that Ed does not believe at this point that a person is responsible for their choices.
Themes
The cops take Ed and his friends to the police station for questioning. As they leave, a police officer tells Marv to get a new car, if he has the money. Marv responds that he has the money, but he just has other priorities. Later, Ed asks Marv what exactly those priorities are. Marv counters that Ed may be considered a hero by most people, but Marv is still mad about Ed shooting through his window.
The fact that many people view Ed as a hero for his unintentional, dangerous act of firing a gun at a robber shows how superficial common definitions of heroism can be. Marv, as Ed’s friend, is able to see through this heroism, showing that Ed is not inherently heroic just because others consider him to be hero.
Themes
As Ed and Marv leave the police station, they are swarmed by reporters wanting to interview Ed. Ed wonders if they will print headlines calling him a hero, but he knows the papers are more likely to call him a “deadbeat.” Ed, Marv, Audrey, and Ritchie walk back to the car, which now has a ticket on it. Marv tries to start the car but fails. In a few days, the first message will arrive, changing Ed’s life.
Ed’s fantasies about being called a hero show he is attracted to the superficial societal perception of heroism, which defines heroes by single bold acts like stopping a bank robbery, but still sees himself as separate from this definition because of his ordinariness.
Themes
