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Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Patron Saints of Nothing, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Truth, Adolescence, and Justice
Responsibility, Guilt, and Blame
Culture and Belonging
Death and Meaning
Summary
Analysis
When Jay presents the trip idea to his parents (saying it could be a graduation gift), his mom says no. Jay’s graduation present was supposed to be a computer, but Jay says he wants to travel, like his parents did—they met when Jay’s mom went to the Philippines. Jay’s mom agrees that he can travel, but not to the Philippines, given what happened. They could go to Spain instead. Jay realizes that his mom is suggesting a family trip. Jay’s dad says that he can’t take off work, so his mom says it’ll be her and Jay. Because he’ll have a hard time solving Jun’s murder with his mom around, Jay says that he wants to travel alone. His parents are unconvinced.
Jay’s mother is trying to protect Jay, but she is also still treating him as a child who can’t be responsible for himself. Yet Jay’s dismissal of the computer he was going to get shows how he is changing and growing: he’s focused on the truth, not material things. Even so, Jay’s father’s distance continues to be a mystery that implies there is still much going on that the adolescent Jay doesn’t understand and can’t see.
Themes
Jay realizes that telling some of the truth might be useful in getting what he wants, so he says that Jun’s death made him more aware of how disconnected he is from his Filipino family. He doesn’t speak Tagalog, nor does he know much about the country. It’s like knowing only “half of [himself].” His mom understands, but says that the timing is wrong. Jay changes tack and claims that his cousin Grace asked him to come, since she’s having a hard time with her grief. Jay’s dad is surprised that Jay and Grace talk at all—Grace doesn’t have a phone. Jay’s parents silently exchange a glance, and then Jay’s dad goes to call Tito Maning and see if the visit would be okay.
This moment is probably the closest that Jay has come to opening up to his parents, so it’s ironic (but, perhaps, typically teenager-y) that his truthfulness hides an ulterior motive. When Jay’s mom doesn’t take the bait, though, Jay shifts from (admittedly ill-intended) honesty to straightforward lies. Meanwhile, the look shared between Jay’s mother and father suggests that they also have secrets of their own, and it seems like these secrets might motivate his father’s decision to see if Jay might visit the Philippines after all.
Themes
Jay’s dad speaks to Jay’s Tita Chato and Tito Danilo often, but less often to Jay’s Tito Maning. Jay hopes this means that no one will follow up on his lie about Grace. He also hopes that Tito Maning will feel like he has to let Jay come: if Tito Maning doesn’t, he’d have to admit that Jun’s death was a big deal. Jay’s dad returns and says that Tito Maning approved the visit. He then warns Jay to stay close to family the whole time he’s in the Philippines, and they buy the plane tickets. Jay can hardly believe this is happening, but he can’t get too excited, because he’s going to the Philippines for a somber reason.
Apparently, Jun wasn’t the only one who had a strained relationship with Tito Maning—Jay’s dad doesn’t seem to get along that well with his brother either, since he speaks to his other siblings more often. The novel continues to set up Tito Maning as a cruel character, if not worse. Meanwhile, Jay continues to manipulate others lies or hidden truths to get what he wants, in this case reasoning that Tito Maning can only maintain the lie of Jun’s death being innocent by allowing Jay to come visit.
Themes
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