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19. Have You Seen Pantopon Rose?
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
It is morning. The Sailor has been waiting in some kind of café or diner for a long time, which is indicated by the rings of coffee on his napkin. A young man walks in and sits at the counter. He is scratching himself and seems distraught. Joe, the man behind the counter, tells the boy he has “coke bugs” (a tactile hallucination provoked by cocaine use in which the individual feels intense itching and thinks there are bugs crawling all over their skin). Joe then looks at the Sailor and shrugs. The Sailor makes a confusing comment about being the boy’s connection, but the boy looks away from his, claiming he doesn’t understand what the Sailor means.
The Sailor returns, once again waiting in an unidentified café. The rings of coffee stains on his napkin have accumulated, becoming a metaphor for the passing of time and an indication of the drug addicted person’s primary occupation: waiting for their next fix. The reader already knowns the Sailor has a predatory nature, given how he first examined the shoe-shine boy’s veins in “The Black Meat” chapter. Because of his fit of “coke bugs,” the young man’s exhibits both vulnerability (i.e., drug addiction) and innocence (he doesn’t know what “coke bugs” are). The Sailor thus senses the young man’s weakness and sees an opportunity for himself.
Active
Themes
The Sailor then offers the young man a piece of pie and pulls the young man into the booth with him. The young man thinks the Sailor is an agent, but the Sailor assures the young man that he is not and can get the young man his next drug fix. All the Sailer wants from the young man in return is “Time.” The young man follows the Sailor out of the establishment. On their walk, they make a point to avoid Queens Plaza because of all the lush workers there.
Active
Themes
