A Wish in the Dark

Chapters 18-26 return the plot’s action to Chattana. Pong returns to the place he once dreamed of reaching as a free man; ironically, now he returns as a fugitive. Nok also returns to Chattana, desperate to capture Pong and prove her worth to her family. Pong and Nok both encounter new truths on the streets of Chattana, and the narrative foreshadows significant qualities in both characters that later help them to resolve the narrative’s conflicts.

The author uses flashbacks to foreshadow significant plot points. In Chapter 18, Nok recalls burning her arm when she was younger; later, in Chapter 33, she learns that the burn was not an accident but a deliberate attempt to erase her Namwon Prison tattoo. Likewise, the flashback detailing the source of Nok’s spire-fighting skills foreshadows the role of this ability at the novel’s climax. Nok previously learned that spire fighting is guided by the principle that “everyone has a light deep inside of them” that can be used to do “extraordinary things” (189). This symbolizes the individual’s innate power to do good, reflecting the Redemption and the Light Within theme. This lesson enables both Pong and Nok to use their special skills to overthrow the Governor in Chapter 47. By describing these memories in detail, the author emphasizes their significance to the plot’s outcome.

The author develops Pong’s key skill in Chapter 25. In Chapter 11, Father Cham tells him that his aptitude for observation is a gift; the scenes at the light market develop that foreshadowing. There, Pong observes that the orbs buzz at a different pitch according to their color, and orbs on the brink of extinguishing also buzz differently. He later uses this ability to help collect faded orbs for the march, and his keen observations ultimately enable him to defeat the Governor. Developing the practical applications of Pong’s observations here foreshadows the special strength they ultimately give him at the novel’s climax.

A motif of social inequality pervades these chapters. Although Pong has long known that life is not fair, living in Chattana newly reinforces this truth, particularly when he visits the light market. The cost of light orbs restricts poor people’s access to quality light; Pong realizes that “life outside the prison walls wasn’t much fairer than life inside it. The best lights were only for the people who could afford them” (177). Somkit’s experience at the orb motor garage reinforces the injustice of the social system; when Somkit is denied a job because of his Namwon history, Pong “fumes” and wonders why his friend’s birth—which he can’t control—affects his eligibility for a job (180). Pong’s experiences at the Light Market develop the theme of Laws versus Justice. Pong originally thought equality under the law existed outside Namwon, but Chattana, too, is marked by a social hierarchy that favors the privileged and crushes the struggling. The characterization of the poverty in Chattana develops the social aspects of the Freedom from Darkness theme.

Nok’s experiences living surreptitiously in Chattana similarly challenge her preconceived notions, adding depth to her character. In Chapter 26, Nok encounters poverty for the first time and feels lost in the face of it. The Governor’s words that “light shines on the worthy” (192) usually give Nok clarity and purpose, motivating her to pursue righteousness; however, they are utterly insufficient in the face of true suffering. Nok thinks that “they were words that belonged in a sunny classroom, as useless here on the East Side as her mother’s fancy dresses” (193). Nok’s reflection recalls her conversation with Pong in Chapter 16. Then, Pong challenged Nok’s conception of the law by pointing out that it disadvantages many people; Nok’s idealized views of fairness are not reflected in the law. Similarly, after witnessing the poverty of Chattana, Nok realizes that the Governor’s philosophy about the law is meaningless; the people are starving, and the law’s promised light does nothing to change that. This experience shapes Nok’s perspective on fairness and introduces her internal conflict about the law that helps drive the Laws versus Justice theme.