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Chapter 46
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Vox, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Action, Complacency, and Resistance
Language, Communication, and Power
Children, Indoctrination, and Acclimatization
Control, Religion, and Gender Essentialism
Choice and Personal Fulfillment
Summary
Analysis
Jean tries to imagine what will happen to her if she’s caught stealing. Will they execute her? She decides to read what’s in the envelope anyway, so she sneaks past the outdoor cameras and into the bathroom off the kitchen. The documents are divided by team, and the header page for each team lists its goal. The White team’s goal is to “Develop, test, and mass-produce anti-Wernicke serum”; the Gold team’s goal is to “Develop, test, and mass produce Wernicke serum,” and the Red team is to “Explore water solubility of Wernicke serum.” The project began in November, seven months ago. As Jean puts the documents back in, she hears Patrick coming. He buys her food poisoning excuse, though he asks if she’s pregnant. Once he returns to bed, Jean puts the envelope back in the mailbox and drops Patrick’s keys near his nightstand.
The contents of the envelope confirm Jean’s suspicions: the government has been working on this project for months, and she, Lin, and Lorenzo are only a fraction of the people involved in it. The project itself seems extremely sinister, given that one team is creating a Wernicke serum—not an anti-Wernicke serum—and then another is exploring that serum’s water solubility. However, Jean’s focus returns to more immediate concerns when Patrick nearly discovers her snooping and her pregnancy, reminding her and readers that she can’t escape her growing list of problems.
Themes
