A Wish in the Dark

Nok is the novel’s other third-person protagonist. She is the same age as Pong and is the daughter of Namwon Prison’s warden. Nok begins the novel as Pong’s enemy, relentlessly pursuing him to restore her family’s good name. When the truth of her world is challenged, her perspective shifts, and she becomes Pong’s ally in the fight for justice. Nok’s character arc explores the theme of Laws versus Justice. 

Nok is analytical, perfectionistic, and dedicated to her principles. Through her perspective, the author explores the ways in which seemingly sound principles can lead well-meaning individuals astray. Nok believes in the power of law and order and has a strict perspective regarding who is right and who is wrong. She initially views Pong unambiguously as a criminal; in Chapter 18, Nok is even annoyed with the villagers for displaying grief over “a criminal’s supposed death” (125). However, the narrative does not present her as an antagonist; her perceptions are merely misguided because of her experiences growing up in an upper-class family. Like Pong, she has a strong internal sense of justice; however, hers is informed by a misguided understanding of rules and consequences.

Nok’s main motivation is to earn validation by capturing Pong. After learning that her parents plan to leave her in Tanaburi to escape the gossip in Chattana about her parentage, Nok feels that she must prove her worth to them. Nok is perfectionistic, and always works hard to be “the perfect daughter” (80). Her animosity toward Pong develops out of a need to use him as evidence of her competence. Nok’s conflicts are primarily internal, especially after she learns the truth of her identity from the Governor in Chapter 33. Learning the truth of her birth—like Pong, she was born in Namwon—challenges Nok’s perception of herself. After escaping the Governor's clutches with Pong and Somkit in Chapter 35, Nok feels “faded beyond recognition” (279) as she grapples with the thought that she can no longer be perfect because her mother was a criminal. It’s not until Nok reunites with her father in Chapter 41 that she understands how societal prejudices incorrectly influenced her perception of others’ worthiness and how these biases created the injustice in Chattana’s legal system. This ultimately motivates Nok to join the march on the Giant’s Bridge and warn the marchers of the Governor’s plan. In Chapter 47, she stands with them and helps hold the light, along with the rest of the marchers. Nok’s character arc communicates the Laws versus Justice theme as she discovers that maintaining control and order do not truly bring justice.

Nok’s sense of justice foils other characters like the Governor who also assert the power of law and order. Nok believes that all should be subject to the law, including the Governor (260); this contrasts with the Governor’s use of the law as a tool for maintaining control. Realizing that he manipulates the law for his own gain ultimately allows Nok to see the Governor’s treachery and helps her understand that the law is not always the ultimate source of justice. Her conversation with her father in Chapter 41 helps her cement this realization; he tells her that although her birth mother was a criminal, she had a good heart and was acting only out of desperation (329). This helps Nok understand that criminality doesn’t equate with immorality and that unequal systems keep people trapped by their circumstances.

Nok is a foil to Pong throughout the novel. Both characters are victims of social prejudices, albeit in different senses; Nok doesn’t fully grasp her situation at first. Nok encounters vicious gossip about her parentage, while Pong faces prejudice from those who judge him because of his past at Namwon. While Pong keenly feels this injustice, Nok turns to the law and to perfectionism to reconcile herself with her deep sense of unworthiness. Nok believes that if she can be perfect and follow the law to the letter, then she can escape its prejudices and prove her own goodness to herself and to her family. Whereas Pong is depressed by the sentiment that “the law is the light, and the light shines only on the worthy” (23), Nok is comforted by those words because she seems them as an achievable goal. It is only when Nok witnesses poverty firsthand for the first time in Chapter 26 that the words ring hollow (192).

Ultimately, like Pong, Nok finds the answer to the prejudices of society by turning to the light within herself. Thus, their foil communicates the Redemption and the Light Within theme. Nok is renowned for her spire-fighting abilities, yet there is a secret behind them: She learned how to use her own inner light to direct her moves. This ability allows her to defend the marchers on the Giant’s Bridge in Chapter 45. By using her inner light to direct her actions, Nok symbolically asserts the innate potential for good that resides in each person. This parallels Pong’s journey toward letting go of guilt and embracing the light within himself. Nok’s character arc reinforces the novel’s thematic statement on the innate potential for good within each person and the goodness that supersedes the law. 

Somkit is Pong’s best friend. The two have known each other their entire lives; they grew up together in Namwon and consider each other brothers. When they were children, Somkit was often picked on by the older kids because of his appearance: “The other kids teased him that he looked like those grilled rice balls on sticks that old ladies sold from their boats” (2). He was also bullied because “he was useless in a fight, which meant that everyone liked fighting him the most. And he couldn’t run more than a few steps without coughing, which meant the fights usually ended badly” (3). Accordingly, Pong often sticks up for Somkit. Pong’s bond with Somkit helps Pong accept himself and come to terms with his own dark side. 

During their time in Namwon in Chapters 1-5, Somkit’s passivity contrasts with Pong’s drive to stand up against injustice. Somkit often tells Pong that people must keep their mouths shut to avoid painful consequences (7). However, the roles reverse when the boys reunite at the age of 13: Somkit is inspired by Ampai’s optimism and actively involved in the revolution, while Pong is still shattered by the Governor’s words and believes action against injustice is futile. While Somkit has a more active view of his ability to effect change than Pong does, Somkit still retains his passive attitude toward enduring social prejudices. When Somkit and Pong visit the light market in Chapter 25, Pong learns that Somkit was denied a job at the orb motor garage because of his history as a Namwon resident. Somkit shrugs this off without complaint (182), but Pong feels the injustice on behalf of his friend. Although their attitudes toward the revolution differ because of Pong’s self-imposed helplessness, Somkit’s passivity highlights the spark of justice that is still alive in Pong. 

Ironically, Pong learns in Chapter 38 that Somkit harbors just as much guilt as Pong does over Pong’s escape from Namwon. Somkit reveals that he arranged the escape because he feared that Pong would die inside if he didn’t get out; now, Somkit feels that he condemned his friend to a lifetime of being a fugitive. Seeing Somkit’s guilt is an important turning point for Pong because it shows him that he’s not the only one with darkness inside him. Similarly, in Chapter 32, Somkit refutes Pong’s self-pitying monologue about the darkness of his past by reminding Pong that Somkit knows him better than anyone else, and Pong’s past doesn’t excuse his abandoning the cause. Somkit’s friendship helps Pong hold up a more accurate mirror to himself and realize that his self-condemning perspective inhibits his ability to do good.

The Governor is the primary antagonist in the novel. A figure shrouded in mystery and awe, the Governor is characterized as almost godlike; the people of Chattana consider him their savior because he is the one who restored light to their city with his orb-generating powers. Pong learns in Chapter 40 that the Governor received this power from Father Cham. Like Pong, the Governor was blessed with a red cord and a wish: “May you bring the light back to Chattana” (319). Although the Governor, like Pong, is marked with Father Cham’s blessing, he abuses his powers and uses them to control Chattana. In the end, Pong must remove the Governor’s blessing cord to usurp his influence and restore true light to Chattana. 

Initially, the reader perceives the Governor as a benevolent ruler because of both Pong’s and Nok’s idealizations of him in Chapters 2 and 3, respectively. However, once Pong has his first encounter with the Governor in Chapter 4, the Governor unveils himself as an unambiguously antagonistic character. The Governor tells Pong that “light shines only on the worthy” (23) and that “the world is filled with darkness, and that will never change” (28). His words define Pong’s troubled self-image and cynical perspective throughout much of the narrative. 

The Governor is a symbol of oppressive order and authority. He claims that ideals like compassion and fairness are meaningless without the law (258); however, it is the Governor’s legal structure that maintains the systems of inequality in Chattana. The Governor sharply foils other characters who behave with truly good intentions or who otherwise uphold the law and justice simultaneously. His main foil is Father Cham; both are leaders with power over others, but Father Cham gives them true light, whereas the Governor uses his influence to exert control over them. The Governor also foils Nok; although she also trusts in the spirit of the law, she believes that everyone—including the Governor—must be subject to it (260). She comes to view his authority as a dictatorship once she meets him at his home in Chapter 33. As Nok grasps the Governor’s intention to halt the march by outlawing peaceful protests, she realizes that he is not the benevolent ruler she once thought he was. She recalls that “when the Governor rose to power, the first thing he had built wasn’t a temple, but a jail” (254). This priority signals the Governor’s true motivation: maintaining absolute control. Despite his association with the light, the Governor is a tyrant who uses his powers and his lights to subjugate those he leads.

Father Cham is the head monk at Wat Singh. He offers Pong a new life after Namwon and grants him clemency for his actions. Father Cham becomes a mentor to Pong, encouraging his goodness and modeling the principles that guide Pong throughout the narrative. Father Cham teaches him important lessons, such as “desperate people deserve our compassion, not our judgment,” (68) and emphasizes the goodness of Pong’s heart (110). Father Cham believes in service and self-restraint; he does not seek to control others. He can also literally grant wishes; the blessings he bestows on others actually come true.

Father Cham’s appearance reinforces his veneration and his wisdom. When Pong first meets Father Cham in Chapter 9, Pong notes that he is older than anyone Pong had ever seen—even his ears were wrinkled. But there was something else that Pong couldn’t quite name. Something bright and serene danced in his eyes, like the strange flames on the sticks near the altar (56).

Father Cham’s association with flame positions him as the Governor’s foil. While the orbs of light are a symbol of the Governor’s control, the wild, untamed fire, and Father Cham’s refusal to disavow it in Chapter 13 symbolize the freedom Father Cham grants those he leads. While the Governor seeks to control others, Father Cham seeks to serve them.

While Father Cham uses his power for good, he once indirectly harmed Chattana because of one of his blessings. Pong later learns that this admission is a reference to the Governor. Father Cham once wished the Governor would “bring the light back to Chattana” (319), which gave the Governor his light-generating powers and led to his oppressive rule over Chattana. After this experience, the monk feels guilty and gives only smaller, more mundane blessings. He feels that he was “arrogant” (95) to think that he alone could solve the suffering of the world; he tells Pong that one should not impose their will on the world, even if they have good intentions (96). Father Cham’s resolution to do good on a smaller scale is ultimately an important lesson for Pong: Through Father Cham, Pong learns the significant positive impact of seemingly small acts of compassion.