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Chapter 8
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Breakfast of Champions, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Art, Subjectivity, and Absurdity
People and Machines
Race and Racism
The Destruction of the Planet
Capitalism and Consumerism
Mental Health
Summary
Analysis
Dwayne comes down from the roof of the Holiday Inn and goes to the front desk to rent a room. Despite the late hour, a black man stands at the desk in front of him. The man, named Cyprian Ukwende, is a physician from Nigeria who is working in Midland City’s emergency room. He is staying at the Holiday Inn until he can find a cheap apartment. Dwayne “humbly” waits his turn. “Times change,” Dwayne says to himself. “Times change.”
Dwayne’s comment, “Times change,” is in response to Dr. Ukwende’s race. Dwayne “humbly” waits his turn behind the black man as a reflection of his tolerance and support of equal rights; however, he appears to be tolerant in order to make himself look better, not because he actually acknowledges Ukwende’s inherent right to equality.
Themes
