Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Running in the Family, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Memory, History, and Story
Alcoholism
Ancestry, Homeland, and Identity
Irresponsibility in the 1920s
Colonialism
Summary
Analysis
An anonymous person recalls the trip to Doris and Mervyn’s wedding. On the way to Colombo, where the wedding is taking place, they find the bishop who is to conduct the marriage with his car stuck in the ditch. They give him a lift, but the car is so packed that everyone is sitting on each other’s laps. They have to let the bishop drive, since no one is allowed to sit on him.
Ondaatje includes several anecdotes like this, which are humorous but do not add to the story in a significant way. Such inclusions emphasize that the memoir is a collection of varied memories and stories, rather than an official historical record, and reflect the moments that stood out to the people involved, either because they were important or merely silly.
Themes
