Previous
Part 3, Chapter 8
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Harlem Shuffle, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Crime, Class, and Social Mobility
Identity and Duality
Community, Change, and Loyalty
Systemic Racism, Injustice, and Power
Betrayal, Vengeance, and Integrity
Summary
Analysis
A year and a half after the events on Park Avenue, Carney stops by another Van Wyck construction site. He has finally managed to secure a contract with Mr. Gibbs at Bella Fontaine, which brings back memories of the summer James Powell was killed. In retrospect, the riots seem less meaningful, as the lieutenant who killed Powell was cleared by a grand jury. Freddie, too, received no justice, dying after spending two months in a coma. Carney’s grief is devastating, but the world keeps turning. Munson tells Carney the Linus Van Wyck case was closed. He and Delroy collect envelopes from Carney, now that Montague’s interest in Carney has faded.
Carney’s business is continuing to grow, having overcome the setback with Bella Fontaine. James Powell’s killer received no justice despite Harlem’s communal outcry, seemingly proving Pepper’s cynical perspective that the riots were ultimately meaningless. Like Powell, Freddie’s murderers face no consequences. Both examples emphasize how systemic racism makes it less likely that Black victims will receive justice. Although no details are given on Linus’s case, it can be assumed that his family only framed his death as suspicious in order to retrieve the briefcase and stopped investigating his death thereafter.
Themes
Now, Carney peers through a fence concealing the latest Van Wyck construction site. New York City construction is a never-ending cycle of digging deeper and building higher. The new construction will be built on land previously owned by Linus Van Wyck, the deal struck right after his death. Carney wonders exactly why the briefcase was so important to Ambrose Van Wyck. It is possible Linus took his father’s power of attorney documents in an effort to free himself from his family. Perhaps Van Wyck needed the money stashed in the mysterious bank accounts to close the deal on this new property. Carney does not know the answers any more than he understands his own father’s treatment of him.
The Van Wycks’ role in the city’s endless growth is evidence of their power and influence: they control the changing face of the community. Carney lacks closure about the Van Wycks’ briefcase, though he has theories. Their world feels alien to Carney, as they are not committing crimes for the purpose of social mobility, but in order to maintain socioeconomic dominance over the city. In comparing Ambrose Van Wyck’s motives to Big Mike’s parenting, Carney highlights their shared crookedness and disregard for their sons.
Themes
Carney goes to visit Aronowitz’s store, only to find it has been razed to the ground like the rest of Radio Row. Despite citizens’ protests, the neighborhood will be the site of the new World Trade Center. Seeing his city changed in this way feels unreal to Carney, as if there is a war being fought for its streets. Aronowitz himself has been absent for many years, though Carney tried to say hello once. Now, he takes the subway to meet with his new rare-gem connection. Later, he’ll meet with Elizabeth for an open house on Strivers’ Row. Carney likes Riverside Drive, but on certain nights in Strivers’ Row “it was as if you didn’t live in the city at all.”
Carney’s return to Aronowitz’s store bookends the novel, suggesting that he remembers the way the city used to look despite its continually shifting face. Comparing those changes to a war implies that wealth and influence are things to be fought over, which is consistent with his experiences over the years. At the novel’s end, Carney seems weary of that fight, considering moving into Strivers’ Row not because it represents further social advancement but because he can, however briefly, escape from the city’s endless grind.
Themes
