Wolf Whistle's primary theme is racism—particularly the inherent absurdity of racism. To underscore that thematic concern, the author populates the novel with ridiculous, bizarre, and magical characters, events, and small details. In addition to Alice’s visions, talking pigeons, and the view from Bobo’s “immortal eye,” the narrative even adopts the point of view of the buzzard Ross Barnett, named after the Mississippi governor and segregationist. Although much of what happens in Wolf Whistle is impossible in the real world, the central and most shocking event in the novel—the senseless and brutal murder of a black boy who whistled at a white woman—did in fact happen. By juxtaposing a retelling of Emmett Till’s murder with impossible or surreal events, Nordan emphasizes that inhumane acts of racism make just as much sense as talking animals do.

Despite the brutalities depicted in Wolf Whistle, the novel also acknowledges the undeniable beauty in the world. Both beauty and ugliness abound in human experience, and sometimes the two are found, as Southerners say, "right smack dab against each other." For example, right after Solon hauls Bobo away to his death, readers see the beauty of Uncle and Auntee’s simple yet extraordinary love. As the storm turns the scenery to mud, the author acknowledges, “the Mississippi Delta is not always dark with rain” and describes exquisite sunrises over the lakes. Later, in the courtroom, everyone is awestruck by the parrot’s splendor as it soars above them, and then Solon flings a slew of expletives at Uncle that is, in terms of diction, fouler than any other passage in the novel.

The theme of the coexistence of beauty and suffering can also be seen in Wolf Whistle’s motif of music—blues music in particular. The blues originated in the southern regions of America. In an interview, Nordan pointed out that the genre was called “race music” when he was growing up in Mississippi. It has its roots in slavery, from when field workers would sing in call-and-response patterns to make their work more bearable. Blues songs are filled with pain, but they transform pain into something beautiful. Throughout the novel, blues musicians play on Red’s porch, in Rage Gage’s barber shop, and in characters’ heads. Even the hateful Solon Gregg is moved as he listens to Muddy Waters on his way to murder Bobo. And Runt’s son, Roy Dale, frequents the barber shop to hear blues singers play at night; he is the only white person in the room. These scenes bring out the power of art to speak to many different people and to transcend boundaries.

Themes of loneliness and emptiness also pervade the novel. Every human character is lonely, except Uncle and Auntee, and even they suffer a great loss. Alice is in love with her former professor (Dr. Dust, a married man), Dexter and Sally Anne are estranged, and Solon is incapable of real love. When Runt calls Fortunata in the pouring rain on the night of the murder and begs her to come back, he talks about the emptiness inside of him.

Further developing the theme of emptiness is the motif of whiteness, which Nordan makes especially apparent during the trial. As Alice looks down over the sea of white faces in the courtroom, and before Uncle sees the dozens of African Americans in the balcony, Alice calls the whiteness “a pestilence.” The great whiteness below reminds her of reading Moby Dick in Dr. Dust’s class. In Moby Dick, whiteness represents, among other things, the unknown, blankness, and a lack of meaning. Readers recall the senselessness of Dexter’s and Solon’s crime, but again, because of the impact the murder had on the community, one cannot say Bobo’s death was meaningless. Thankfully, Nordan refuses to deliver a world completely void of meaning and love. After so much loneliness, the book ends with a scene depicting Alice’s and Sally Anne’s budding friendship, and though they do not see a happy future in the crystal ball in the junk shop, they do not see a bleak one either, which leaves room for hope.