Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Patron Saints of Nothing, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Truth, Adolescence, and Justice
Responsibility, Guilt, and Blame
Culture and Belonging
Death and Meaning
Summary
Analysis
At dinner, Tito Maning interrogates everyone about their day. Grace responds with a detailed cover story about visiting tourist attractions. Jay says that it was “powerful” learning about history, which he thinks is a lame lie, and he worries that Tito Maning notices his dishonesty. Tito Maning says that tomorrow after mass, he’ll bring Jay to the Malacañang Palace and the National Museums. All Jay can think about is whether or not Tito Maning had Jun killed. He worries he could be in danger if he brings it up, though that thought feels crazy to him. He decides he’ll confront his uncle tomorrow. Back in Jun’s old room, Jay checks his backpack for the letters, but they’re still gone.
Jay had thought—and as this passage makes clear, still thinks—that he can interrogate his uncle and learn the truth. It’s interesting that his uncle has the same sense of the world, as he seems to believe that by interrogating his family he will get the truth out of them. But, as Grace’s response shows, it takes more than a show of force to get the truth, even if Jay fears that his own lies are incompetent. Jay didn’t learn about Philippine history through sightseeing, but his day at the mall with Mia did teach him a lot about the nuanced world of the Philippines that he was blind to before.
Themes
When Jay’s mom calls, Jay lies to her about what he’s been doing so far, not mentioning Jun at all. She puts Jay’s dad on the phone. Jay finds that it’s always like pulling teeth talking to him on the phone, and this time is no different. Jay’s dad gives Jay some safety tips and Jay asks him about work, but his dad responds in single-word answers. Jay wants to tell his dad about the note he found in Tito Maning’s desk, but can’t do so without admitting he stole it, so instead he asks why Tito Maning’s family doesn’t speak to Tita Chato. Jay’s dad says it’s not any of their business, and the conversation dies out.
Jay and his parents still fall into the same patterns of evasion and lack of communication. Jay’s dad is immensely committed to the idea of other people’s business being off-base for conversation, though it’s not clear if that principle is just a principle or a way of insulating himself and his family from any drama among his relations still in the Philippines.
Themes
After going to bed, Jay wakes up in the middle of the night with the sense that someone is in his room. And indeed, there’s a man sitting at Jun’s desk and writing, head covered by a burlap sack. Jay thinks it might be Tito Maning and gets up, looking over the man’s shoulder to see what he’s writing. It’s all nonsense words, scribbles. The man stands up and walks toward Jay until Jay is backed against the window.
The initial implication of this scene is that Tito Maning is doing something nefarious in Jay’s room—a sense that is a result of Jay’s suspicion of him and of Maning’s actual somewhat sketchy behavior. However, it soon becomes evident that this is a dream that deals with Jay’s guilt over losing Jun’s lost letters, his inability to understand the “truth” of Jun’s story, and his general anxiety about what happened to Jun.
Themes
Jay sees that the man’s feet are bare and his jeans are torn. His chest and stomach have bloodstained holes in them—bullet holes, Jay realizes. Jay wants to run away but can’t. The man removes the sack and Jay sees that it’s Jun, but the bottom half of his jaw is missing. Jay asks Jun what happened to him. He apologizes for losing the letters and failing to confront Tito Maning. Jun touches Jay’s chest but says nothing, and Jay wakes up. No one is in the room. It was a dream. Or maybe it was a visitation.
Like the unreadable letters earlier in the dream, Jun’s lack of a jaw is another way that the dream manifests how upset Jay is that Jun can’t communicate with him. Jay’s question about what happened to Jun again shows how Jay assumes that there’s a simple answer to his question—that if Jun was able to speak, he could tell Jay the simple truth. Jay’s guilt is again on display in his apology for losing the letters and failure to confront Tito Maning.
Themes
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