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
Roderick misses the train back home. But there are so many Native ghosts in Washington that could keep him company, he thinks about staying. And they’re happy to have somebody new. They ask why he wants to go back and who he would be waiting for.
By referencing the number of Native ghosts in Washington, D.C., this chapter nods to the long history of violence and exploitation carried out by the U.S. government against Native people and their communities.
Themes
