Love builds strength is a theme. When Jimmy first meets Lorrie, he sees himself as a Lummox. He feels big and clumsy, and while he has confidence in himself, he has little in the way of self worth. He finds himself handcuffed to Lorrie in a dangerous situation involving Punchinello Beezo and his two clown co conspirators. Although he is frightened at first, he is immediately more frightened for her safety than for his own. He is already thinking less about his own survival - which was his only concern just ten minutes prior to their meeting than he is about her survival.