The Death of Vivek Oji

“This was before Vivek, before the fire, before Chika would discover exactly how difficult it was to dig his own grave with the bones of his son.”

This quote reflects the influence of traditional gender roles and how these assumptions of gender impede Chika from fully recognizing his son while he was alive. The quote suggests that Vivek’s death is partly due to his parents’ rejection of their son’s full identity. It also alludes to Chika’s long depression in which he can barely leave bed following Vivek’s death. Only after he loses Vivek does he realize the true meaning of love—loving someone for who they truly are.

“There was nothing boiling in him, just a loud and clear exhale, a weight of peace wrapping around his heart.”

While Chika characterizes his feelings about Mary as a burning or a boiling, with Kavita he feels peaceful. This early contrast foreshadows the great divide between the two women that occurs in the wake of Mary’s congregation assaulting Vivek. It outlines their different approaches to life, as symbolized by how they ultimately respond to Vivek’s sexuality and gender. This quote also carries the theme of the true meaning of love, showing that people can love meaningfully in diverse ways.

“Osita wished, much later, that he’d told Vivek the truth then, that he was so beautiful he made the air around him dull, made Osita hard with desire. ‘Take it off,’ he snapped instead, his throat rough. ‘Put it back before they catch us.’”

This early quote expresses Osita’s sense of guilt after Vivek’s death. While the remembered scene illustrates Osita’s self-hatred and projection as he wrestles with the reality of his sexual desires, it is also foreground to his later sense of possibility for embracing his true self after Vivek’s death, as symbolized by his plans to proudly wear Vivek’s silver Ganesh charm.