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
Wash wakes the next day and realizes that he won’t be returning to Big Kit or their hut. He rises, sore, unused to the soft mattress. The house seems deserted, and Wash looks at the basin in the room, realizing he should make himself presentable. As he washes, a brownish-red grime comes off of his skin, and he is amazed as he watches the water turn black.
This moment is a symbolic change for Wash—washing himself implies that this moment is like a baptism into a new life. He is shedding some of the markers of his old life (e.g., the brownish grime from the cane fields, the uncomfortable sleeping situation in the huts), again showing that he was deprived of basic human decency simply because of his race.
Themes
Wash looks through the house and finds Titch in the kitchen with a plate of eggs in front of him as he reads papers. For the first time, Wash notices a thin scar cutting up from the sides of Titch’s mouth to his ears. Noticing Wash, Titch explains that staff members from the Great House will teach Wash how to do laundry and cook. Titch then guides Wash to a dining room and insists that they eat together. Wash is shocked at this invitation and eats his eggs tentatively, not betraying his disgust at the hollandaise sauce.
Wash’s reaction to being asked to dine with Titch emphasizes how inhumanely he has been treated up until this point in his life, where being treated with basic respect is revelatory. In addition, the first mention of Titch’s scar is notable. Scars recur throughout the novel and are a physical representation of the idea that the past (like the incident that led Titch to gain this scar) is inescapable—scars are marks from the past that people carry with them for the rest of their lives.
Themes
Titch explains that the old master, Richard Black, was his uncle. When Black passed away, Erasmus took over the plantation, as their father, Mr. Wilde, is a man of science and didn’t want to run the estate. At the moment, Titch and Erasmus’s father is on a voyage in the Arctic, and so Erasmus has to run several estates. Wash is amazed by Titch’s talkativeness, as though he has gone several years without company.
Titch’s family’s backstory illustrates that he isn’t the only one who wanted to avoid family duty. His father traveled to the Arctic in order to avoid having to run the family estates, shifting the responsibility onto Erasmus. This illustrates that self-determination is crucial for all the characters and implies that part of Erasmus’s cruelty stems from his unhappiness at being captive to the plantations as well.
Themes
Titch explains that he came to Barbados because he wanted to avoid his mother, and that the West Indies are also a perfect place to test his Cloud-cutter. Wash is amazed that Titch has so little regard for his mother and yet seems like a warm person. Titch goes on, saying that Wash will help with his experiments.
Titch’s discussion of his mother and his journey to Barbados illustrates that he, too, felt confined by his family responsibility and wanted to avoid it. This brings him to the West Indies to work on his Cloud-cutter, which becomes a symbol of freedom—not only because it gives him greater mobility, but also because it provides him with an excuse to escape his mother.
Themes
Get the entire Washington Black LitChart as a printable PDF.
Procuring a paper and pencil, Titch sketches a fantastical kind of boat with wings. Wash watches in amazement as his artistry, realizing that he wants to be able to draw like Titch. Titch says that he believes his contraption can actually fly. Titch says that they will have to teach Wash to read so that he can help record measurements. Wash agrees to do this for “Mr. Titch,” and Titch asks him again to just call him “Titch.” Wash smiles at Titch—but it is a smile of terror.
Titch’s sketch introduces art into Wash’s life. Like science, art represents a way to better capture and understand the world. In addition, Titch continues to try to get Wash to view them as equals, but the book also illustrates how this is nearly impossible due to their difference in power and status. Even though he tries not to acknowledge it, Titch has control over Wash’s life, and this makes it difficult for Titch not to inherently think of Wash as a lesser person meant to cater to Titch’s needs.
Themes
