The Lies of Locke Lamora

All the Gentlemen Bastards are orphans, and when they come to the Temple of Perelandro, they enter a new family of sorts. Father Chains says so directly when Jean arrives at the temple. “Father Chains poured [...] toasts, dedicating the last to ‘Jean Tannen, who lost one family but came to another soon enough’” (315). The Bastards live, work, and play together; they learn from each other and have no choice but to trust each other. They bond fast and forever.

Father Chains made the Temple what it is, and provides a safe and challenging environment that’s also a stimulating school. The Bastards trust each other in part because Father Chains trusts each of them, and because he gives the children reasons to trust him. He’s a “father” because he’s a priest, but he truly is the adoptive father of all the Bastards. In a city that chews children up and spits them out, Chains is a rarity. Chains shows the children what genuine love looks like. They remember Chains’s lessons and legacy and continue it after he dies.

After Father Chains passes, Locke takes over the gang. For the first portion of the