Morbid Fascination
This theme demonstrates that violence steals children's innocence in multiple ways. First, children who are physically harmed or killed, like the dead boy in the opening scene and Harri, lose their lives entirely. Additionally, children who witness crime and violence lose their sense of safety and security. Leading up to his murder, Harri grows increasingly anxious and imagines himself dying. After he sees the crime scene, Harri fixates on death, trying to understand his own mortality. At the dead boy's funeral, Harri imagines the type of coffin he would like.
Harri's classmates discuss weapons and sex, and draw scars on their bodies. In their social relationships, the boys voice and explore their fears and insecurities by trading information about taboo topics.
Escapism
Harri is an imaginative child who enjoys make-believe. He often imagines innocent scenarios, such as "God easing himself on his favorite cloud."
However, Harri subconsciously recognizes that the world around him is unsafe and uses escapism as a tool to navigate his world. For example, when Julius, Aunt Sonia's abusive partner, shows Harri the bat he uses to maim debtors, Harri pretends the bat is a dog and "all the scratches in it are from where it got in a fight with another dog."
When Harri first sees the dead boy's blood, he imagines he can "make the blood move and go back in the shape of a boy," thus resurrecting the murder victim. This imagery provides Harri with immense comfort as he pushes back against the finality of the boy's death.
Harri and Dean pretend they are detectives as they investigate the dead boy's murder. This "game" helps Harri and Dean create a sense of control as adults fail to act decisively and protect them.
Superstition and Faith
Harri concretizes abstract concepts and big questions by creating his own superstitions. When his sister, Agnes, becomes ill, Harri assumes her fever is a punishment for his misbehavior. He promises his life in exchange for Agnes's, assuring God that he doesn't "mind going to Heaven early." To seal this pledge, Harri sacrifices his alligator tooth to the "volcano god" by throwing it down the rubbish chute. Harri's beliefs offer him some sense of control and order in a chaotic environment.
Harri also turns to superstitions and faith to lend meaning to the dead boy's murder. When he finds the dead boy's blood-soaked wallet, he wants to "eat it so the spirit could live." Harri also gives "gifts" to the dead boy, like dedicating a run through the rain to him, in order to resurrect his spirit in an intangible way.
Harri's friends also partake in superstitious beliefs and behaviors, solidifying their relationships. The boys in Harri's friend group create a sense of camaraderie by agreeing not to "step on any cracks for the rest of term" and thus ensure "the holidays will be sunny every day."
Cyclical Violence
Throughout the text, Harri occasionally harasses and bullies younger children without fully understanding his motives. In Ghana, Harri had positive role models, like his father, whom he could look up to as examples for dealing with anger and fear. In London, however, Harri's mother works frequently, and Harri mimics the behavior he sees in older kids. For example, when Harri is upset about baby birds dying, he takes out his anger on a little boy. Harri feels suddenly angry like he "wanted to kill him on the spot." Unable to express his grief about the birds, Harri pushes the child and "even wanted him to cry." This interaction hints at how the Dell Farm Crew and other teenagers in the text became violent.
Another example is Harri and Dean's ironic mattress-jumping "business." The boys begin to bully smaller children immediately after the Dell Farm Crew takes advantage of them. This anecdote illustrates how abuse and bullying are cyclical, and children turn to bullying to make themselves feel tough and strong in dangerous environments.
Discrimination
In London, Harri and his family both endure and perpetuate discrimination. At work, an expectant mother calls Harri's mamma a racial slur and questions her competence as a midwife. When Harri and his classmates play soccer, Vilis, prejudiced against black people, refuses to pass Harri the ball. Harri believes that in Vilis's home country, Latvia, they "burn black people into tar and make roads out of them."
Harri absorbs negative stereotypes, which he both replicates and questions. For example, when he sees a Muslim girl praying in the hall during school, he finds her prayer beautiful and realizes "it couldn’t be bombs...it had to be something good." Harri also befriends Altaf, a Somali boy Harri initially suspected was a pirate before learning the boy is "scared of the water even with armbands on."
Pidgin
The title, "Pigeon English," is a play on pidgin English, a dialect of English developed when non-native English speakers create a common form of communication. Harri develops a "pidgin" understanding of his world over the course of the narrative as he learns social rules, British culture, and new ideas. Harri often confuses and synthesizes unfamiliar words, giving them new meanings. For example, he learns "orgasm is just another word for the sneeze of a mouse" and "sucked off " means "harder kissing."
Loss of Innocence
Throughout the text, Harri finds himself in situations for which he is unprepared that change his understanding of the world and his place in it. For example, Harri desires to join the Dell Farm Crew to avoid bullies and gain a higher social status. However, Harri only realizes the extent of the gang's crimes on his second mission when the Dell Farm Crew mugs Mr. Frimpong, an elderly man from Harri's church. Harri is horrified and grows increasingly cautious.
Harri enjoys an innocent dating relationship with Poppy Morgan, a girl from his class. However, Miquita, Lydia's friend, offers to give Harri kissing lessons and sexually assaults him. Harri is traumatized and disgusted and feels like he "just wanted to die."
Lydia, Harri's sister, also experiences the disappointment of losing her innocence. Lydia struggles with anxiety and insecurity as an immigrant to a new city and a young teenager. Thus, Lydia is excited to be a member of the Dance Club and befriends Miquita and Chanelle. However, Miquita takes advantage of Lydia, coercing her into destroying evidence and then burning Lydia's face with a flatiron. When Miquita reveals her cruelty, Lydia is disillusioned and destroys her Dance Club costume, symbolically confronting her loss of innocence.
