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King of Hearts
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in I Am the Messenger, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Circumstance vs. Choice
Heroism, Sainthood, and Ordinariness
Purpose, Success, and Meaning
Hope, Caring, and Beauty
Summary
Analysis
Ed’s street is quiet, but he hears the Joker in his hand laughing at him. He is scared to go back inside his house in case someone is waiting for him in there. However, he searches the entire house and finds no one there but his dog. Feeling numb, Ed goes to work, unable to chat casually with his customers like he usually does. Two days pass in this limbo, until Ed almost crashes his taxi when he fails to notice the car in front of him has suddenly stopped. Ed slams on the breaks just in time and hears the Joker laughing from the passenger seat.
Ed’s perception that the Jocker is laughing at him after he almost crashes his car suggests he believes the card is influencing his luck. This shows how in times of distress, as Ed feels in this chapter, one will revert to the assumption that fate controls their life. Ed has come so far in terms of feeling that he can take charge within his circumstances, but he still feels burdened by the things he can’t change.
Themes
