Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Night Watchman, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Power, Solidarity, and Community Action
Oppression and Supposed Good Intentions
Humor and Pain
Sex, Violence, and Gender
Agency and Exploitation
Summary
Analysis
Patrice and Valentine come early to the fight and stand close to the ring. Juggie Blue sells tickets. Joe Wobble is a little leaner than the last time they fought, and Wood Mountain has put on more weight without sacrificing any speed. The fight seems evenly matched until Joe Wobble lands a blow, cracking Wood Mountain’s nose. Wood Mountain counters, striking with fury, ahead on points but not definitively winning. By the end, the two are just hitting out at each other with no strategy or intention. Wood Mountain does end up winning on points, but it doesn’t really matter. Both men sit with their eyes swollen, eyebrows taped, brains swelling in their heads. It’s the last time that either of them fight.
The whole community comes together to help the fight happen and to raise as much money as possible for the delegation to travel to Washington, D.C. With such high expectations for the fight, Wood Mountain and Joe Wobble go all out, to the point that they don’t want to put themselves through anything similar ever again.
Themes
