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Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Deadly, Unna?, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Race, Injustice, and Action
Courage and Masculinity
Duty and Sacrifice
Teamwork and Family
Summary
Analysis
At football practices, Best Team-man (whose real name is Timothy) appears to be a great player with technical skill. However, on game days, Best Team-man can’t seem to get a hold of the ball. Arks says that Best Team-man can’t “read the game,” unlike Dumby, who follows the ball like it’s second nature.
Being a successful football player is something instinctual that cannot be taught, thus adding to Blacky’s self-doubts about the responsibility placed upon him and emphasizing Dumby’s natural talent as a player.
Themes
Even though Team-man can’t score on gameday, he dedicates himself to his team. Blacky thinks Team-man would jump off a cliff if Arks asked him to. This is why Team-man always receives the “Best Team-man trophy” at the end of the year. One would think that dedication to the team would also mean dedication to the family, but Blacky says this is not the case with Team-man.
Blacky views the fulfillment of duty as requiring total illogical sacrifice, similar to that of a lemming throwing itself off a cliff. Even with that total sacrifice, one can still fail, just as Team-man fails as a family member. Blacky’s attitude here sheds some light on why he himself is reluctant to take on responsibility.
Themes
Blacky recalls a time last summer when Team-man found two crayfish on the reef outside their town, while they were spearfishing on their father’s boat. Even though they are not allowed to be that far out in the ocean, they go diving for the crayfish. Blacky scares one out from its hiding place, but Team-man is not there to catch it. Instead, Team-man is floating on the water, having passed out after diving too deep.
Fishing is essential to the men of Blacky’s community. Being successful at fishing is another way Blacky can earn the approval of his father and the other men of the Port. However, as with Blacky’s other attempts to live up to these unrealistic masculine expectations, he struggles.
Themes
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Blacky drags Team-man back into the boat and rows to shore. He sees their neighbor, Darcy, and calls for help. They take Team-man to the doctor. He is fine except for a burst eardrum. When their father asks why Blacky and Team-man were so far out on the reef, Team-man says it was all Blacky’s idea, thus proving his disloyalty and selfishness toward his brother.
Team-man fails to live up to his titles of brother and teammate, showing why Blacky believes that these labels are really just words which do not translate to any genuine loyalty or support. This anecdote also presents Team-man’s selfishness when it comes to his family, which he will overcome at the end of the novel.
Themes
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