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Chapter 44
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Art of Racing in the Rain, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
What It Means to Be Human
Language and Storytelling
Love and Family
Illness and Death
Destiny and Spirituality
Summary
Analysis
Not long after Denny pays his account with Mark Fein, Mark is appointed to be a circuit judge. Enzo admits he knows little about this except that it's a lifetime appointment that you don't refuse. Denny finds a new lawyer, Mr. Lawrence, who asks for a continuance to read all the paperwork, and Enzo is concerned for their fate. He says that Mark had an energy about him, while Mr. Lawrence seems sad and slow. Soon after, Trish and Maxwell sue Denny for child support, which Mr. Lawrence says is legitimate, if ruthless.
Both sides are getting more dug in on this battle, and Enzo's description of Mr. Lawrence makes the reader fear for Denny's fate along with Enzo. With what we know of Trish and her desire to have an easy fight, we can imply that suing for child support was Maxwell's idea. It's obviously a tact to bankrupt Denny, as Maxwell and Trish have made their comfortable financial situation very clear.
Themes
Enzo tells the reader that he has an imaginary friend called King Karma. He says that he fully understands the concept of karmic justice, but doesn't like the fact that karma sometimes doesn't work until lifetimes later. Thus, King Karma helps Enzo exact revenge in this life. King Karma kicks people who are mean and administers other fitting punishments for bad deeds. At night before Enzo sleeps, he talks to King Karma and sends him to Trish and Maxwell. Enzo says that King Karma gives them bad dreams in which they're chased by a pack of wild dogs, and when they startle awake, they're unable to fall back to sleep again.
Enzo has a very clear sense of justice and right and wrong, and he uses his spiritual beliefs to help him obtain justice, even if it's just in his mind. His imaginary friend is based on actual beliefs of Karma, but he's altered how Karma works to fit his own system. This is in line with how he constructs the rest of his belief system—he learns about an idea or a concept, and then tweaks it to fit his own needs.
Themes
