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Part 1, Chapter 31
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in James, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Speech, Performance, and Willful Ignorance
Identity, Narrative, and Agency
Racism, Dehumanization, and Hypocrisy
Innocence vs. Disillusionment
Family, Alliance, and Loyalty
Summary
Analysis
The minstrels set up camp in a logging town, where slaves work while white men holding whips stand around chatting. Emmett leaves to set up a performance. Jim asks Big Mike if Emmett is a good man, and if it’s true that the rest of them don’t believe in slavery. Big Mike seems indifferent on the subject. When Emmett returns, he recommends Jim remain in the camp for this performance, as the townsfolk will kill him if they discover he is Black, and they can’t afford another tenor. Norman seems to know that Jim will not be at the camp when they return. After the men leave, Jim steals some food and Emmett’s song notebook and runs hard away from the camp.
Big Mike’s indifference toward the subject of slavery makes it clear that no one is going to stand up to Emmett on Jim’s behalf. That Emmett trusts Jim to be left alone at the camp while the others perform implies that he assumes Jim’s loyalty based on his relatively kind treatment. In reality, Emmett is just another man denying Jim his freedom, and he treats him as such.
Themes
