Identity

The author uses the theme of identity to isolate John Harper’s character, forcing him to confront his past. Harper has spent much of adulthood denying his true identity. He no longer goes by his given name of Nicholaas and spends his life undercover in Indonesia. Harper has struggled with his identity since childhood. He never met his father and was an adult before he knew the true story of his father’s beheading. As a child, he liked to embellish the stories his mother told him, effectively creating his identity at an early age.

Harper has a difficult relationship with his mother. While he may embellish his memories, he also is not clear as to what is true of what his mother has told him. Anika takes Nicholaas to Holland and then to Los Angeles. She leaves him with Poppa and Nina, letting them raise...