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Chapter 3
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in These Violent Delights, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Factions, Feuds, and Forbidden Love
Retaliation and Justice
Imperialism and Greed
Moral Complexity, Betrayal, and Forgiveness
Power, Responsibility, and Monstrosity
Summary
Analysis
Roma goes to investigate the scene where the seven men tore out their throats the night before. He’s accompanied by his cousin, Benedikt, and another man named Marshall Seo. While they’re investigating the scene, they find what seem to be insects, which they put in a bag. Marshall and Benedikt discuss the possibility of investigating where the other man died last night, but Roma says it won’t be possible because it’s deep in the territory of the Scarlet Gang. He adds that he saw what happened last night and that he was with Juliette at the time.
This passage suggests that the “black specks” described in the opening scene of the novel are one and the same as the insects that Benedikt, Roma, and Marshall find in this scene. That suggests that the insects are related to the monster and perhaps that the insects are causing the madness that is leading people to tear out their own throats.
Themes
Benedikt and Marshall are both surprised. They hadn’t known Juliette was back from the United States. They also know that Roma and Juliette have a history, though they’re not sure exactly what happened between the two in the past. For his part, Roma was surprised when he saw Juliette the night before. Instead of being the person he once knew, Roma thinks that Juliette now seems cruel and merciless.
This passage suggests that Roma and Juliette have a romantic history. Moreover, the two have grown apart to the extent that Roma no longer recognizes Juliette as the person he once knew, and he thinks that Juliette now seems cruel and merciless, suggesting that something happened in the past both to drive them apart and perhaps to harden Juliette.
Themes
At the scene of the deaths, Roma, Benedikt, and Marshall hear members of the Scarlet Gang approaching. They jump into the river to avoid being caught. When they’re in the river, Marshall thinks he sees eyes in the water. Roma and Benedikt at first think Marshall is joking, but the serious look on Marshall’s face tells them otherwise. The three then climb from the water. They find a pamphlet that says “Avoid the madness. Get vaccinated.”
Notably, while people seem to have only discovered the apparent madness within the past few days, there is already a flyer advertising vaccinations for the madness. This passage then suggests that the rapidity with which a vaccine has supposedly been manufactured is enough to raise suspicion.
Themes
Roma leads the group to a laboratory that belongs to the White Flower Gang. At the laboratory, scientists employed by the White Flower Gang create an opium mixture that is especially addictive. Roma shows one of the scientists there, Lourens, the insects they found. Lourens holds a flame to one of the insects, and the other two insects squirm in pain. It is as if the insects are connected, Lourens says. Lourens then tells the group that the insects are not organic and were also perhaps not made by humans.
This passage shows that the White Flower Gang is involved in the opium trade, pointing once more to how the Opium Wars of the 1800s continue to impact Shanghai in the 1920s. The insects spreading the illness have mysterious qualities and also seem to be acting as part of a hive mind, suggesting that all of the insects may be connected, an idea that will have further implications as the novel continues.
Themes
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