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20. Coke Bugs
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
Continuing from where the previous chapter leaves off, the Sailor brings the young man to an apartment where sex and drug paraphernalia are strewn about. From under the sink, the Sailor pulls out a small pack, unwraps it, and lays out a dropper, spoon, and needle on the table. There are noticeably no roaches in the apartment, and the Sailor explains that this is because someone called the Exterminator has done such good work. The Sailor then reaches into a tin of pyrethrum powder and pulls out something that reminds the young man of a firecracker package. This triggers the memory of how, at age 14, the young man lost two fingers on Fourth of July. In the hospital afterward is when the young man had his first experience with drugs.
Unlike other chapters, this chapter is the first whose content sequentially follows that of the chapter that precedes it. The implication of the flashback is that it points to the origin of his addiction, which began when he was hospitalized after a serious injury. In fact, the young man from this chapter shares similarities with NG Joe, who similarly became addicted to drugs because of a medical issue. This passage thus establishes once again the connection between addiction and the pharmaceutical industry, showing that addiction does not simply concern the individual but is a multi-factorial, societal problem.
Active
Themes
The Sailor offers the young man pure heroin, once again requesting the boy’s “Time” in exchange. He assures the young man there isn’t a better deal on the streets. The young man still doesn’t understand what the Sailor means by “Time,” but he accepts the Sailor’s offer anyway. The Sailor then reaches into the young man’s pants and cups one of his testicles. The young man dissociates for an unspecified amount of time, and by the time his mind reenters his body, the Sailor is preparing the shot. The Sailor reaches for the young man’s arm and inserts the needle into his vein. The boy starts twitching and asks the Sailor if he, too, is “taking off.” The Sailor explains to the boy that “junk is a one-way street;” in other words, now that the boy has had heroin, there’s no going back.
The reader discovers the sinister meaning of “Time” in this passage: it is code for sex. Therefore, the slug’s previous message of the Sailor “buying up all the Time” indicates that this is a behavior the Sailor frequently engages in. This passage illustrates just how vulnerable someone dealing with addiction is, especially how they can become targets for predators. In fact, the young man’s encounter with the Sailor has irreversible consequences because, as the Sailor explains with his “one-way street” analogy, the young man will now be addicted to heroin, and his addiction will follow him for the rest of his life (without treatment).
Active
Themes
The narrator then reintroduces himself to the reader as the Exterminator. He explains that at one point he really did exterminate insects, but now his current assignment is to exterminate “molds” (and though he does not explicitly state who he is working for, it is likely Islam Inc.). The narrator says that the most dangerous kinds of “molds” are dissident agents, whom he identifies as A.J., the Vigilante, the Black Armadillo (this is the only time his name is mentioned), Lee (who narrates a previous chapter), the Sailor, and Doctor Benway. The Exterminator knows that while he trying to sniff out these dissident agents, there is another agent who is also trying to find him.
Active
Themes
