Previous
Part IV: Calvin Johnson (4)
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in There There, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Cultural Identity vs. Personal Identity
Storytelling
Interconnectedness, Coincidence, and Chance
Generational Trauma
Summary
Analysis
Thomas can hardly believe shots are being fired until he sees people running and screaming. Thomas ducks and looks around, trying to spot the shooter. He stands up to see better, and gets shot in the throat. Thomas berates himself for being so stupid. Bullets are flying all around him as he clutches at his bleeding neck. Someone pulls him into their lap and ties a scarf or shawl around him to try to stop the bleeding. Thomas can’t see anything, and welcomes sleep gratefully—until someone slaps his face, trying to keep him awake. Thomas’s body grows heavy but peaceful as he feels himself pulled down towards sleep, and death.
Thomas is the first point-of-view character to die, and he does so almost gratefully. Exhausted by the weight of his life—and in a compromised physical condition—Thomas succumbs to his wounds quickly.
Themes
