From beginning to end, The Lies of Locke Lamora is filled with humor and violence, often at the same time. Humor is a way of coping with violence, and a way of growing accustomed to it. Laughing at something frightening or painful can make it less so. Most of the people in Camorr’s underworld have this humor, which makes sense, since they’re the ones who see the most violence. When life is full of violence, pain, and death, Camorri believe in making the most of it—and enjoying it however you can. Capa Raza, however, lacks this humor. He takes pride in his vengeance and in his cruelty, but he takes it deathly seriously. There is no room for laughter or joy in his life. This absence of good humor marks him as an outlier and as truly evil.

Elderglass structures are a prominent part of Camorr. The city is built around them, an hour of the day is dedicated to the light they cast, and their mystery is omnipresent. Elderglass and the Eldren are unknowable and impenetrable; Elderglass is unbreakable, and the Eldren left no information about themselves behind. Even so, Camorri must live with those secrets and the strangeness of an unknowable past.