Globalization
GraceLand addresses the topic of globalization in a number of ways throughout the novel. Largely set in Lagos, Nigeria between the 1970s and 1980s, the story takes place at time where modernization and western culture conflict with traditional modes of thought. The novel can often be seen as critical of the foreign influences that operate within Nigeria. The western influences in GraceLand often work in exploitative manners, such as American cigarette companies distributing their products to children in movie theaters. The description of how the World Bank takes advantage of the Nigerian people under humanitarian pretenses is also a clear indictment of globalization. However, it is necessary to observe that global influences also have positive implications in certain areas of the book. For example, it is only the presence of foreign journalists that prevent the Colonel from massacring the protesters at the end of the novel.
Poverty
The novel traces the trajectory taken by Elvis in an attempt to make a living in a slum in Lagos. Elvis' story shows how difficult making a living can be in impoverished societies, particularly in cases where the regime is a brutal military dictatorship. Elvis goes through a number of jobs, which grow increasingly desperate as the novel progresses. After failing to succeed as a street performer, Elvis goes from being a laborer, to a male escort, to an unwitting human trafficker, and finally to working as a caretaker of young beggars and living on the street. In addition to this, the events at the novel's conclusion expose the problems that arise when members of a community with no economic resources and nowhere to go are forced out of their homes. The reader sees how the demolition of one slum in an attempt to attack all the "centers of poverty and crime."[2] in Lagos simply results in the expansion of another, with no attention given to the underlying issues of poverty that cause these slums and high crime rates.
Criminality
A large part of the novel is concerned with the concept of criminality. This includes murder, corruption, rape, drug smuggling, human trafficking, child prostitution, torture, and theft. Elvis's role in many of the aforementioned criminal acts brings to light the questions of culpability and innocence. Elvis continues to participate in shady activities with his friend Redemption's encouragement, which culminates in his involvement in a heinous human trafficking venture. The theme of criminality, which is also addressed through a number of other characters, is useful in discussing the justifications of crime. For Elvis, his criminal activities are motivated by his desire to lift himself out of poverty. Sunday's role in having his nephew Godfrey killed off on the other hand, raises the question of how honor killings can still function in a modern society.
