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5. Ulysses
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
Pastor John seeks revenge on Ulysses for leaving him to die. In his narration, he repeatedly refers to Ulysses with derogatory, racist language, and he laughs to himself when he finds Ulysses and overhears his story of the tornado, believing that God’s retribution will be more terrifying than a natural disaster. John strikes Ulysses over the head with a walking stick, knocking him unconscious, and approaches the terrified Billy.
Pastor John’s internal monologue continues to spout hateful language that contradicts his alleged Christian values. Despite his hypocrisy, he believes that God is on his side, even as he commits acts of violence and threatens a child. John’s role as a false pastor not only allows him to lie to others—it also lets him lie to himself.
Themes
Pastor John grabs Billy. Billy cowers, then finds courage and says that he is “truly forsaken,” just like Ulysses was when he faced the tornado. Billy kicks Pastor John in the knee he injured when he fell from the train and flees while John recovers. Pastor John strikes Ulysses with a shovel and searches for Billy’s coin collection. He finds it, but is promptly struck unconscious.
Billy has spent the story being protected by others––Emmett, Sally, and Ulysses. When he must face danger alone for the first time, he draws courage from Ulysses’s story. Just as Billy’s story inspired Ulysses, now Ulysses’s story inspires Billy. This moment is also one of maturity for Billy, as he takes responsibility for his own safety for the first time.
Themes
