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7. Emmett (2)
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
Duchess knocks on the door of Mr. Hewett’s apartment, only to find that his father moved away. The current resident gives Duchess something his father left behind, a bespoke case featuring props from Mr. Hewett’s performance as Othello. The case, the last of a collection from Mr. Hewett’s Shakespearean roles, is one of Mr. Hewett’s prized possessions, so Duchess deduces he must have been in a hurry when he left. The current resident confirms that Mr. Hewett disappeared the day after Duchess escaped Salina, likely having received word from the warden.
Mr. Hewett’s decision to flee from his son is yet another instance in which he abandons Duchess, and his sudden escape suggests that he knows he has wronged Duchess and expects that his son will seek revenge. The fact that Mr. Hewett left behind one of his prized possessions also suggests that his desperation to avoid Duchess’s vengeance is in itself making Mr. Hewett’s life worse.
Themes
Duchess bribes a concierge with Emmett’s money, and he learns that Mr. Hewett’s friend Fitzy FitzWilliams, a “third-rate” vaudeville performer, used to live in the apartment building and likely knows where Mr. Hewett is. Duchess knows Fitzy, who made a name for himself playing Santa Claus for wealthy patrons until he was arrested for reciting a monologue from The Communist Manifesto in the 40s. Duchess offers the concierge more money if he can track down Fitzy.
Duchess grew up surrounded by performers, which contributes to his skill at presenting a false version of himself. He also grew up specifically with down-on-their-luck performers like Fitzy, which likely shaped Duchess’s cynicism and the importance he grants to money. Fitzy’s public disgrace through Communism also hints at the fervent anti-Communist sentiment in America after World War II.
Themes
