Screwjack Summary and Analysis

"Screwjack" begins with a note from "The Editors," stating that the following letter was one of the many documents that had survived the Duke Estate fire of 1988. The letter was written by Raoul Duke. The Editors warn that Duke was seized by "madness and fear and lust."

As to the content of the letter itself: Duke described a dinner with "Mr. Screwjack," who is described as a young black tomcat. Screwjack may be symbolic of drug addiction, but the matter is open to interpretation. The two had tuna fish together, and Screwjack nuzzled Duke. Duke's relationship with Screwjack was highly erotic; Duke and Screwjack appeared to care about each other passionately, but like passionate lovers they also had bouts of hate and violence. Duke threw Screwjack out of his home in a rage, but paused to thrust his tongue between Screwjack's...