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16. The County Clerk
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Naked Lunch, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Drug Addiction
The Art of Writing
Politics, Power, and Control
American Society
The Medical-Industrial Complex
Summary
Analysis
Andrew Keif is a “brilliant, decadent young writer” who lives in Interzone’s red-light district, in the Native Quarter. His chauffeur, Aracknid, is the only person native to Interzone who is neither homosexual nor single. If Andrew Keif ever catches someone he doesn’t like coming on to Aracknid, he uses their behavior as an excuse not to see them again. Aracknid is both unattractive and a notoriously incompetent driver. The Zone (red-light district) is made up of one building, and each of the nearly conjoined rooms consist mostly of a bed. Interzone’s Native Quarter is characterized by “a hum of sex and commerce,” which includes an infamous business deal that involves a shipment of K.Y. (sexual lubricant) made from whale dreck (a byproduct of processing and cooking whales).
Several aspects of this passage reflect the setting on which Interzone is based: the International Zone of Tangier. Because at the time Tangier had the reputation of being lawless place, where sex and drugs were easy to find and where foreigners were often above the law, it attracted many European and American artists, a group to which Andrew Keif (and Burroughs, for that matter) would have belonged. This passage also introduces the “native” person of Interzone (though the idea was referenced obliquely by the Nationalist Party Leader in a previous chapter). This gestures to the fact that Tangier was a colonized place, where the division between the colonized native population and the colonizer non-native population was stark, and a clear hierarchy existed between native and non-native people. This hierarchy is reflected in the fact that the so-called native character earns his living by chauffeuring a non-native character around.
Active
Themes
Marvie and Leif The Unlucky are the two men behind the whale dreck lube deal. They run a company called Interzone Imports Unlimited and hire a man called the Expeditor to help them. Marvie eventually receives a check for the merchandize, but the check will take 11 months to process. He must now he must somehow stave off the Expeditor, who has yet to be compensated for his work. It is unclear whether the Expeditor’s services are useful, and very few residents have neutral feelings about him (they either love or hate him).
This passage mostly serves to elaborate on the narrator’s previous characterization of the Native Quarter, as the whale dreck lube deal illustrates both the sexual and commercial aspects of it. It also depicts a stereotypical way business deals go awry: someone hires someone else to help but then doesn’t want to (or is unable to) pay them for their services. The absurd nature of the business deal combined with its realistic elements contribute to the overall satirical tone of the chapter.
Active
Themes
The Island is an area of land that is part of Interzone but leased rent-free by Britain. It houses a British Military and Naval station. The yearly lease renewal involves a big ceremony that takes place at the Island dump, and the entire population of the Island is required to attend and to sign the lease permit. As part of the degrading ceremony, the President of the Island crawls on his stomach to present the lease document to the British representative while soldiers point machine guns at the residents in attendance.
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Themes
The Island has both a Senate and a Congress who strive to uphold “all forms of democracy” on the Island. In reality, however, they have very little jurisdiction, and they can only make decisions related to garbage and outhouses. In the past, the Senate and Congress were in charge of maintaining the Island’s baboon population, but they eventually lost that privilege. President of the Island is a role that is typically filled by one citizen whom the others find distasteful. Most Island Presidents die before the end of their term, usually because of a “broken spirit.”
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Themes
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The Expeditor was once President of the Island, and he has surgically changed his appearance to disconnect himself from that past. While trying to get his money from Marvie, the Expeditor delivers a vague insult about the legitimacy of Marvie’s business. Upset by this accusation, Marvie retaliates by alluding to the fact that the Expeditor used to be the Island’s President. The conjuring of this painful memory causes The Expeditor’s “pre-surgery face” to return. He also begins speaking his native language (which most Islanders pretend not to understand) and foaming at the mouth. Marvie and Leif run away, believing he has gone insane.
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