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4. Sally
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Lincoln Highway, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Stories, Truth, and Lies
Debts and Atonement
Maturity and Responsibility
Adventure
Pride vs. Humility
Summary
Analysis
Emmett follows Townhouse’s directions to a circus. He brings Billy but regrets doing so, afraid that Duchess will hurt him. Emmett and Billy watch the circus until Billy spots Woolly in the audience. Emmett brings his brother over to Woolly, who tells him that Duchess is “in the living room” outside the tent. Emmett leaves Billy with Woolly and goes to find Duchess. He finds Duchess in a lounge with three prostitutes. Duchess assures Emmett he will return the $3,000, but tells him the money is back at Sarah’s house. He offers Emmett Woolly’s convertible, but Emmett refuses. Ma Belle, the madame of the brothel, enters and serves drinks, which Duchess pressures Emmett into accepting. The alcohol makes him dizzy, and Ma Belle locks the off-balance Emmett in a room with one of the prostitutes.
Emmett’s fear that Duchess will hurt Billy reveals how little Emmett trusts Duchess. Woolly, on the other hand, has no idea anything is amiss, and Duchess treats the entire situation with nonchalance, suggesting that he feels in control of his confrontation with Emmett. His plan to drug Emmett and have him locked in a room with a sex worker would today be considered a form of sexual assault, and it implicitly allows Duchess to assert his dominance in his relationship with Emmett. Duchess has a specific narrative in mind for their relationship, and he is determined to bring it to fruition.
Themes
