Chain Gang All Stars

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Book Club Questions

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Blood Points

Blood Points are the special currency used in the CAPE program, which connects to the theme of The Violence of Capitalism. Fighters in the CAPE program are not allowed to own any property, weapons, or food that they haven’t paid for; their only currency is the scrip called Blood Points, earned by killing opponents—literally by spilling blood. Hendrix Young refers to this currency as “murder points,” drawing even more attention to the fact that it is earned directly through violence. Blood Points can be used to purchase armor, weapons, food, medical care, and information that will help fighters survive to the higher levels of the program, where they’ll fight against others who also have more Blood Points and better resources.

While Blood Points are meant to convey individual advantage to the most adept fighters, the strongest combatants of A-Hamm use them in a different way that subverts the CAPE system. Thurwar spends her Blood Points on equipping Rico, a new Link who has no other way to fund his gear. This sharing of resources to benefit the whole Chain emphasizes that Thurwar sees the group as a found family rather than rivals—an attitude that is poignantly undercut by the rule that she must fight her lover, Staxxx, to the death at the end of the novel.

Names and Nicknames

The combat nicknames assigned to each Link symbolize the gap between their true selves and the commodities that they have been turned into. The Links don’t have full control over their fighter nicknames and images; instead, their identities are co-opted by the CAPE program. Despite becoming celebrities—a group typically associated with wealth, privilege, and power—the Links are objectified and subjugated. Stripping the Links of their real names dehumanizes them, as does identifying them based on their crimes—this is seen as essential by the GameMasters, who realize that the public will only enjoy the show if they don’t view the people being killed as fully human. The nicknames are often silly, meant to emphasize the show as a spectacle rather than gruesome executions.

Some nicknames play on fighter prowess and gender stereotypes. For example, Hamara Stacker becomes “Hurricane Staxxx,” combining a powerful force of nature with a word that connotes the slang “stacked,” meaning having large breasts, or stacks of money. Other nicknames arise from onscreen events. For instance, Simon J. Craft becomes “Unkillable Jungle”—the first is a reference to his seemingly inexorable killing streak once he becomes a Link, and the second replaces the middle name he can longer remember with a racially tinged allusion to wildness that has some derogatory shades of meaning.

Notably, the abolitionist protestors call Links by their real names. This emphasizes the Links’ humanity: Protestors want to end state-sanctioned murder for profit, so they call attention to the fact that CAPE combatants are people. This prompts some Links to reconsider their relationships to their nicknames. While Staxxx has embraced the metaphor of a hurricane, she struggles to remember who Hamara was. Hearing the protestors chant her name reconnects these identities.

Thurwar’s lack of a CAPE nickname highlights the importance of maintaining and owning one’s identity: Thurwar wants her audience to witness her real humanity. This dedication to truth also means Thurwar rejects Micky Wright’s show business games, remaining silent during interviews or pointing out that murder is occurring. Of course, Thurwar is still commodified and objectified—being a nickname-less outlier gives her a CAPE identity despite her resistance—but her unwillingness to go along with every CAPE norm is important for the eventual project of dismantling the program.

Weapons

Different weapons in the novel symbolize different types of violence. Violence is judged differently based on who commits it and under what circumstances.

Each Link starts out with a randomly determined weapon—wrenches, spoons, or scissors—symbolizing the randomness of privilege: In the violent game of capitalism, birth often determines life outcomes and success. At the same time, almost all of the starting weapons are underpowered, making explicit how little chance the Links have of surviving the CAPE program. By killing people and earning Blood Points, Links can purchase deadlier weapons like swords and scythes, gaining advantage over opponents. The hand-to-hand and low-tech nature of Links’ weaponry emphasizes the murderous nature of CAPE combat—it is literal bloodletting, as the term “Blood Points” indicates. However, Links can never access the deadliest weapons, such as guns, which are reserved for the violence committed directly by state actors and seen as just punishment.

The novel’s police use tasers, Influencers, and tear gas to control civilian protestors; prison guards use solitary confinement and Influencers to torture incarcerated people. These powerful weapons symbolize that “the massive violence of the state [is] ‘justice,’ [is] ‘law and order,’ and resistance to perpetual violence [is] an act of terror” (150). The novel’s most terrifying weapon, the Influencer, which unlocks pain beyond what the human nervous system can process, is exclusively reserved for state use. Importantly, the Influencer causes memory loss—its victims forget their identities and purpose, becoming violent agents of the state.