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Chapter 38
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Columbine, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Violence and Spectacle
Memory, Bearing Witness, Trauma, and Testimony
Failure
Media: Misinformation and Sensationalism
Religion: Escapism, Evangelism, Opportunism
Summary
Analysis
As Eric prepares to begin the diversion program—and his senior year—he lashes out even more angrily in his journal. He describes himself as “higher than almost anyone in the world in terms of universal intelligence,” and compares himself to God “frequently but not delusionally,” going so far as to title his journal “The Book of God.” He refers to humans as mindless automatons, echoing Dylan’s earlier writings which described humans as “zombies.” Eric wants to impose a kind of natural selection of his own making, to “fuck things up as much as we can [and] leave a lasting impression on the world.” Dr. Fuselier, reading Eric’s journal in the present day, comes to an important conclusion: he is dealing with a psychopath.
Eric sees himself as many psychopaths see themselves—as better, more deserving, smarter, and more talented than the rest of humanity. He believes that his desire for annihilation of the human race is justified. Dr. Fuselier’s realization about Eric will then reorient the way he sees the entire case.
Themes
