Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Washington Black, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Freedom vs. Captivity
Racism, Humanity, and Cruelty
Journeying and the Past
Family, Love, and Pain
Art, Science, and Curiosity
Summary
Analysis
Weeks pass, and Titch insists that Wash rest. Every day, Wash can see a little more, and his facial wounds scar over; each evening, Titch reports the Cloud-cutter’s progress. As Wash grows stronger, he rises and walks to the library, where he looks at sketches, or walks onto the porch. He fears that his face is ruined, but Titch asserts that Wash is getting better and can return to his duties soon.
Wash acknowledges here that he has been irreparably altered by the explosion, making him even more of an outcast than he already was. Both Wash’s education, and his involvement in scientific discovery that led him to his scars, are now an inescapable part of his past.
Themes
One day, Titch asks if Wash imagined he died and was back in Africa when he first opened his eyes after the accident. Wash explains his ancient beliefs, just as Big Kit explained them to him. Titch notes gently that Wash was born in Barbados, and Wash says that Kit would bring him with her to Dahomey. Titch says that that is nonsense, and that when people die, there is nothing. Wash’s chest constricts, and he turns away from Titch, pained and panicked.
This exchange illustrates the limits of scientific thinking. While Titch critiques Wash for believing in an afterlife or reincarnation—presumably thinking that this belief system is unscientific—the book clearly disagrees with Titch’s assessment. The book portrays science as means to investigate and understand mysteries, not to dismiss them outright. Moreover, Titch’s easy dismissal of Wash’s religious beliefs illustrates another way in which he believes Wash to be lesser, as he doesn’t acknowledge that Wash’s beliefs might have merit.
Themes
When Philip first sees Wash’s burns, he is startled, commenting that Wash is an ugly thing now. Philip says that Wash shouldn’t have walked into the proximity when Titch told him to do otherwise. Wash agrees, but he notes that Philip seems pained during the exchange. He wonders if Philip feels guilty for what happened. But Philip quickly turns his attention to the cooking—complaining about the food prepared by a girl named Esther that Erasmus sent over while Wash was resting.
Wash’s scars aren’t only a burden that Wash will carry with him—they are also a burden for Philip. Even if Philip doesn’t necessarily feel guilty for what happened to Wash, the scars are nevertheless a reminder of what Philip asked Wash to do. This is another way in which scars underscore how the past is inescapable.
Themes
When Erasmus finally recovers his strength, he invites Philip and Titch to dine with him. Wash is disappointed to learn of Erasmus’s recovery, knowing that his death would have spared many lives. Wash accompanies Titch to dinner but does not serve anything; he simply stands behind Titch’s chair. Wash notices an older slave woman serving who had the bulb of her right shoulder severed off. She keeps looking at him—even smiling once. Wash notes that she is taking care of a younger slave boy who is working there, making sure he has the easiest tasks, just as Big Kit used to do with him.
Seeing the older enslaved woman and the young boy, Wash recognizes that she bears the same love for the boy that Big Kit used to have for Wash. He begins to recognize that even if Big Kit didn’t show a lot of affection, she protected him in the way that any good mother would, and that she was the closest thing that he had to family because of the love she provided.
Themes
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Erasmus discusses Titch’s progress with the Cloud-cutter before noticing Wash’s scar. He asks what the boy did for Titch to punish him, but Titch assures Erasmus that it was an accident. Titch asks Philip to confirm, but Philip quickly changes the subject. He tells the brothers that their father has passed away due to an accident in the Arctic. He says that this was the reason for his visit, but he didn’t want to say anything until Erasmus’s health improved and Philip could tell Titch and Erasmus together. Erasmus grows furious, believing that Philip intentionally withheld this information from them, but Philip assures Erasmus that he didn’t.
This exchange between Philip and Erasmus again hints at a previous conflict between Philip and the two brothers. This reinforces the idea that the past is inescapable: whatever conflict occurred in the past is now coloring all of their subsequent exchanges—to the point where Erasmus doesn’t fully trust that Philip is telling the truth.
Themes
Philip says that it’s likely Erasmus will have to leave for England to take over the estate on Granbourne and sort out his father’s affairs, and Titch would probably have to run Faith Plantation. Erasmus immediately grows more interested, but Titch, who is despondent, simply gets up and leaves. Wash feels he should follow, but he doesn’t want to draw attention.
Erasmus’s reaction to his father’s death illustrates how he feels trapped at Faith Plantation, to the point where his father’s death feels like gaining freedom because Erasmus can return to England. For Titch, on the other hand, it represents not only an emotional blow in losing the person he loved most in the world, but also a blow to his freedom, as he will likely now become responsible for the Plantation and therefore captive to it.
Themes
Just then, the older slave woman turns towards Wash, and he realizes in horror that it is Big Kit. He wonders how he didn’t recognize her. Even though she’s been maimed terribly and has aged, in reality Wash knows that he has changed even more. He realizes again that she treats the young boy just as she used to treat him. Wash tries to catch her eye, but Big Kit is called elsewhere, and Erasmus dismisses him.
Here, Wash recognizes how family members can provide great love for each other, but they also cause each other a lot of emotional hurt. In this moment, Wash is hurt by the fact that Big Kit has essentially replaced him with this young boy. But at the same time, Wash knows that he has abandoned Big Kit and has changed so much that he doesn’t recognize her—and in doing so, he has hurt her as well. This illustrates how emotionally complicated families can be, because they can hurt each other emotionally more than any other person might.
Themes
