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 begins to cry, and then panic, as he realizes that he won’t be able to find his way back in the snowstorm and will likely die. At some point, an arm drags him back through the snow, and he awakens later in a smoky warmth. Mr. Wilde tells Wash that he’ll get to keep his fingers and toes. When Wash asks about Titch, the man softens, and Wash understands that Titch was the man’s favorite son. Mr. Wilde says that the men in the camp are out looking for Titch now. When Wash asks how long he’s been asleep, Mr. Wilde doesn’t answer.
Wash and Mr. Wilde’s reaction to Titch’s abandonment illustrates through two different dynamics how emotionally difficult families can be. In Mr. Wilde and Titch’s case, the dynamic has reversed between father and son. Now Mr. Wilde acknowledges his deep affection for Titch—but also how much pain his son has caused him by walking off into the storm.
Themes
The days pass and there is no sign of Titch. One morning, Mr. Wilde is fed up, and he goes out in search of Titch himself. Peter follows to make sure that Mr. Wilde doesn’t get lost as well. Several more days pass, and Mr. Wilde and Peter return home with no news. Mr. Wilde curses, calling Titch a foolish boy who was always running away. Wash recognizes that Mr. Wilde doesn’t expect his son to come back.
Again, Mr. Wilde’s pain illustrates that just as he had the capacity to hurt Titch, Titch has a similar capacity to hurt him precisely because of the love that they shared for each other. This highlights again how families can both foster deep love but also cause deep pain at the same time.
Themes
Mr. Wilde says that Wash will be all right, putting his hand on the boy’s shoulder. But some hours later, Mr. Wilde falls very ill, and as the days pass his condition worsens. One day, Wash watches over Mr. Wilde when Peter makes a trip to the outpost, and he sketches the old man. As he draws, he thinks of Titch, Willard, and Philip. It strikes Wash that Philip’s suicide granted Wash a new life, as Titch would never have risked taking him if Wash weren’t in danger. When Wash looks back at Mr. Wilde, he realizes that his breathing has ceased—he is dead.
Mr. Wilde’s death shows the depth of his love for his son, because he was willing to risk his health by venturing out into the snow for days, looking for Titch. It also shows how deeply his son’s actions have hurt him, because his grief and dejection likely made him even more vulnerable to his illness and subsequent death, perhaps even implying that he could not live with his son’s death.
Themes
What Titch tried to prevent is now reality: Mr. Wilde’s fake death is now real. Wash realizes then that he doesn’t want to stay in that place—the cold doesn’t suit him. Peter lets Wash take whatever he wants from the Wildes’ possessions, as well as food, provisions, and the money that Titch left for him. Peter and Wash take another sled to the outpost, where Peter gives Wash some of Titch’s handmade telescopes and departs.
As Wash sets out on his next journey, he does so with the mindset of putting this trip to the Arctic behind him and making a new life for himself. But as Wash takes the remnants of Titch’s life, it is also clear that this journey, too, has made a deep mark on Wash that will be difficult to fully move on from.
Themes
Get the entire Washington Black LitChart as a printable PDF.
