Trumpet (novel) - Major Themes

Major Themes

Identity

The novel explores the theme of identity in its entirety. The central element of the story is that Joss was biologically a woman but lived his life as a man. This brings questions of sex, gender, and identity to the immediate attention of the reader.

Although to others Joss's sexual identity and gender may seem complicated, he never struggles with coming to terms with himself. Joss makes the decision to present himself to the world as a man, not for personal gain, or to complicate his identity, but because, to him, living the life of a man is his identity. Both he and his wife are comfortable with their life.

On the other hand, Colman, whose sexual orientation is simple, has struggled in search of his identity from a young age. Being an adopted child and having a famous father made Colman yearn for a normal family all his life. Colman feels pressure to live up to his father's standards but unfortunately has no musical skill and no talent in general. As the strings tighten, he rebels and leaves the shelter that his parents have built to find his roots and his place in life. The knowledge that his father was really a woman complicates Colman's identity even further as he gets lost in unanswered questions. The story ends with a letter Joss left Colman that does not answer these questions, but rather talks about Joss's father. In a round-about way it brings Colman to the realization that it is not what you are that is important, but rather who you know yourself to be.

Throughout the story, the characters, baffled by Joss's secret about his body, must come to terms with who he was as a person regardless of his sex or gender. The realities of his life and influence on the world, rather than the realities about his body, are the truth of his identity.

Grief

The media scandal that follows Joss's death seems to push grief to the side. Everyone is preoccupied with the secret life of Joss Moody. However, the reader can see the natural and varied stages of grief take their course throughout the book. Although Colman is focused on spilling his rage into an account of his father's life to be written by journalist Sophie Stones, he cannot escape dealing with the grief of his father's death. His anger is a different form of grief than that of his mother. Millie, already at peace with who Joss was, is free to internally work through her sorrow and come to terms with Joss's absence.

Love

The entire book revolves around Joss's relationships throughout his life. The relationship between father and son, husband and wife, and music and artist. Love perseveres in the end. After the grieving period, Colman realizes his love for his father and understands that nothing can alter his special tie with Joss. Millie never once questions her love for Joss, nor his love for her. Their strong affection is demonstrated through Millie's embracment of Joss and his decisions from the time they met and fell in love. Even the love and admiration of the minor characters who were involved in Joss's life cannot be changed by his bizarre secret. The story demonstrates unconditional love as Millie, the minor characters, and, eventually, Colman, embrace their love for Joss Moody regardless of his sex or gender.

Secret

The revelation of Joss's true sex is the secret that sparks all the events and emotions of the novel. Millie and Joss's strong bond is based on the concealment of the secret. As Millie puts it: "It was our secret. That's all it was. Lots of people have secrets, don't they? The world runs on secrets. What kind of place would the world be without them? Our secret was harmless. It did not hurt anybody." (p. 10) The novel brings up the question of how much people should know about one's private life.

Music

Music is the ultimate passion of Joss Moody. Music has the special power of making Joss “lose his sex, his race, his memory” (p. 131). “He unwraps himself with his trumpet” (p. 135). It is to the world of music that Joss contributes and those contributions cannot be denied, no matter what sex he was. In addition, Kay attempted to write the novel to be reminiscent of a musical composition.