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Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Boy Swallows Universe, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Goodness, Masculinity, and Coming of Age
Trauma, Coping, and Healing
Family, Love, and Mentorship
Storytelling and Justice
Money, Suburbia, and Criminality
Summary
Analysis
It’s another drop in the lake when someone asks Mum to be on a committee to organize a school party, which meets every Saturday for the next month. She usually hates the kind of parents who join those committees, but she also wants to feel like them sometimes. Then Slim comes down with pneumonia—and Eli, now 13 and desperate to accompany Lyle on heroin runs, reminds Mum how much he and August like burning things when they’re unsupervised. Lyle offers to drop the boys at the pool while he and Teddy deliver the heroin, and Mum agrees.
It's ominous that this chapter begins by noting that joining the committee is a “drop in the lake,” as this suggests something bad is going to happen soon. Mum might be involved in the illegal drug trade, but this doesn’t mean she doesn’t also want to feel like a normal suburban mom. Eli is making achieving “normal” difficult for Mum, though, since he desperately wants to help Lyle with the drug runs.
Themes
The pool, however, is closed when they get there, so Lyle curses and ushers August and Eli back into Teddy’s car. Teddy drives to a house in the Jamboree Heights neighborhood. He and Lyle get out and grab a cooler from the trunk, and then Lyle tells Eli and August to stay in the car. Eli protests—it’s too hot—and finally, Lyle allows the boys to follow him and Teddy to the front door. Two Maori men call for Lyle and Teddy to come in. The bigger one, whom Lyle calls Ezra, laughs when he sees the boys and sarcastically compliments Lyle’s parenting. Lyle snaps that the boys aren’t his, but a woman—Eloise—enters and says that since Lyle has been caring for the boys for nine years, they’re effectively his. August and Eli agree.
Things seem to be working out well for Eli: the pool’s closure means he gets to accompany Lyle and Teddy to people’s homes, and the scorching weather means Lyle can’t make him wait in the car. This is embarrassing for Lyle, however—he seems to agree with Ezra that he’s not doing a great job as a parent if he’s bringing Eli and August along. Lyle tries to distance himself from this perceived crime by insisting the boys aren’t his sons. But Eloise, Eli, and August all agree: his support for the last decade means he’s their dad, whether he likes it or not.
Themes
Eli turns his attention to the movie that Ezra and his friend are watching. Ezra says it’s called Conan the Barbarian, and the actor is Arnold Schwarzenegger. Then, Eli and August notice the Sony Betamax and drop to examine the machine and all the Betamax tapes on the shelf. Eli is thrilled to see every Star Wars movie and Excalibur. Ezra asks Eli his favorite part of Empire, and Eli says it’s the cave bit—Luke is clearly already aware of who his dad is and is afraid of what’s in his blood. The adults exchange looks and the thin man, Rua, opens the cooler and passes a huge block to Eloise. Ezra motions for Eloise to check the block. She’s clearly angry, but she invites Eli and August to come to the kitchen with her for soft drinks.
It’s unclear what Eli expected when he asked to accompany Lyle on these runs, but it doesn’t seem like he expected to come face to face with coveted technology like the Sony Betamax (a VHS competitor). What Eli says about his favorite part of Empire is interesting, as it suggests that, like Luke Skywalker, Eli is afraid of who his own dad is and what that might mean for his prospects. But he also sounds far more mature and insightful than the adults seem to expect, hence their quiet looks and the choice to move the transaction along.
Themes
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Several hours later, Lyle, Teddy, Eli, and August are eating at a snack bar. As Eli sips his soda, he notes that Eloise had a huge range of soft drinks. Lyle rolls his eyes. Eli details every item in Eloise's fridge, and then tells Lyle about the Maori weapon hanging on the wall. According to Eloise, it belonged to some ancient grandfather. As Eloise weighed the block of heroin, she described how her grandfather murdered a rival chief with this unassumingly small weapon. Eli says he pretended to be engrossed in the story and in the sodas—but really, he watched Eloise shave off a gram of heroin and hide it. Eli rattles off names he saw on a list, and when he mentions Dustin Vang, Lyle says that’s great news—he’s healthy competition.
As Eli starts to tell Lyle about all the things he saw, it seems like Lyle was right to want to leave Eli out of this, since Eli is very observant and interested in what others are doing. Eli is also good at is burying important information—in this case, seeing Eloise steal a gram of heroin—in stories that seem to have little to do with his actual point. This seems to impress upon Lyle that Eli may be useful to have around, so long as Lyle is okay with listening to Eli’s rambling stories and waiting for the point.
Themes
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Eli learns that what really connects Brisbane is heroin. He and August spend the month of Saturdays accompanying Lyle and Teddy all over town. Surprisingly, it’s not very romantic, and Eli realizes that he and August could conduct the same deals faster on their bikes. The boys often do their math homework in the backseat (August writes words on his calculator) while Lyle conducts the deals. Eli now knows that Lyle is a second-tier dealer; his clients on Saturdays are the third-tier dealers, and Bich Dang is the first-tier supplier. Lyle is a masterful dealer and diplomat—he treats every client like he treats Mum when she’s angry.
Drug dealing is losing its allure for Eli. It no longer seems all that dramatic now that he knows he could do the same thing faster, and now that he sees that Lyle treats Mum the exact same way that he treats his clients. Eli is also learning how prevalent drugs are in the Brisbane suburbs. He never mentions The Gap, but he also seems to imply that heroin is common in all parts of the Brisbane metro area—those that are well-off, and those that aren’t.
Themes
On their final Saturday run, Lyle tells Eli and August about the underground room and the red telephone. Lyle explains that he dug the room himself, initially to store boxes of marijuana in his and Mum’s early days. The phone connects directly to one at Tytus Broz’s house. But when Eli asks who he was speaking to when he picked up the phone, Lyle says Eli wasn’t speaking to anyone.
It’s confusing when Lyle insists that Eli and August weren’t speaking to anyone on the red telephone, as this opens up the possibility that the voice on the phone may have just been the boys’ imaginations. But Lyle’s choice to tell the boys about the room and the phone shows that he’s decided he can trust them with this information, which is how he demonstrates his care and loyalty.
Themes
Mum is in a good mood over dinner the night after the school event. She spent all day running three carnival games, only one of which was popular. Mum spoons spaghetti on everyone’s plates and says she felt like she belonged. Lyle stares lovingly at Mum as Teddy—who seems to always be over for dinner these days—fetches beers from the kitchen. When Teddy returns to the table, he puts an arm around Mum’s shoulder and rubs Mum’s cheekbone. Lyle, Eli, and August all share incredulous and angry looks. But when Mum says it felt good to do something so normal, Eli tells her genuinely that normal suits her.
Teddy seems to be getting more and more enamored with Mum, and he acts like he no longer thinks he should hide this. This is disrespectful to Lyle, Eli, and August, as it undermines their family. Mum, on the other hand, seems oblivious to Teddy’s advances. Despite Teddy’s behavior, though, it’s still important to Eli to show Mum his support by saying nice things about her carnival games and about her desire to be normal. Eli seems to want Mum to be more “normal” (by which he means not involved in the drug trade), if that’s what makes her happy.
Themes
Out of nowhere, Tytus Broz walks into the living room. Eli’s spine immediately shivers, especially when Iwan Krol strolls in behind his boss. Mum hops up, but Iwan puts a hand on her shoulder to keep her down. Everything is silent for a minute. Then, Lyle turns to August and starts writing something in the air. August nods as Tytus screams for Lyle to stop. Lyle only stops when a third man punches Lyle onto the floor. Eli throws himself on Lyle, screaming. Teddy stays still when Iwan puts a knife to his throat, and Lyle tells Mum he’s sorry and he loves her.
The reasonably happy family dinner instantly turns into a nightmare when Tytus and Iwan walk in. Lyle seems to know at once that he’s their target, as his words to August seem frantic, though what he’s writing is a mystery. Eli demonstrates his loyalty to Lyle by leaping onto Lyle to try to protect him. Teddy, on the other hand, seems all too willing to protect himself and not try to stand up for his friend.
Themes
Mum brings a bowl of spaghetti down on the head of the man holding Lyle down. Then, screaming, she digs her fingernails into the man’s face. The man barely responds as he drags Lyle down the hallway and out the door. At Tytus’s signal, Iwan rushes to grab Mum, pushing August aside. Iwan hits Mum in the temple and then drags August and Eli, who followed, back to the table.
Mum, August, and Eli continue to show their loyalty to Lyle by attacking the man dragging him away. Their behavior seems to be expected, though, given that the man barely notices that he has three people trying to stop him. Dragging August and Eli back to the table is ominous, as it suggests the boys may suffer just like the adults have.
Themes
Eli sobs as Iwan ties August (who’s shockingly calm) to his chair. Tytus tells Teddy to leave, and Teddy only makes one attempt to insist the boys are innocent before running away, right past Mum’s unconscious body. Eli knows in this moment that Teddy is a “gutless prick.” Then, Tytus tells the boys to listen: Lyle has vanished, and in 10 minutes, Mum will be arrested for her role in Lyle’s drug operation. Eli threatens to tell the police and says Tytus is evil. Tytus says Eli won’t speak to the police, but he acknowledges that he is evil. However, he says he’s not as evil as Lyle, who brought kids into “the works of evil men.”
Tytus adds some nuance to Eli’s belief that he’s totally evil, though Eli doesn’t seem to fully grasp what Tytus is saying. He acknowledges that he’s evil, but he suggests that Lyle’s choice to let the boys get involved in dealing drugs was a worse offense than anything he’s done. This is, however, a way for Tytus to absolve himself of some responsibility. It means that it’s not his fault that the boys know what’s going on; it’s Lyle’s fault for letting the boys lose their innocence about his work for Tytus.
Themes
Tytus tells Eli and August to think carefully about whether they want to be loyal to Lyle or to themselves as Iwan puts Eli’s right hand on the table and holds his knife to Eli’s lucky forefinger. Then, Tytus asks August what Lyle wrote in the air. August feigns ignorance and Eli, ready to vomit, screeches that August doesn’t talk. Iwan presses the knife into Eli’s finger bone—and then August gives Eli an apologetic look. August turns to Tytus and says, “Your end is a dead blue wren.” Tytus laughs, and Iwan cuts off Eli’s lucky forefinger. Before Eli passes out, he watches Tytus pick up the finger in a handkerchief.
It’s traumatizing to lose a finger in any circumstance, but losing his lucky finger will no doubt be particularly traumatic for Eli. Particularly since Slim earlier referred to this finger as “home,” losing it suggests that Eli has been forced to grow up. It also implies that everything that made Eli feel at home has disappeared: now Tytus is even more menacing than he was before, and Lyle is gone. The meaning of “your end is a dead blue wren” remains as cryptic as ever, though August’s willingness to say the phrase out loud reinforces that it’s important.
Themes
