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35. Violet: The morning after
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in All the Bright Places, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Mental Health, Stigma, and Suicide
Community, Support, and Trust
Individuality and Identity
Language, Meaning, and Control
Grief, Trauma, Purpose, and Survivorship
Summary
Analysis
When Finch sees Finch’s dad’s car in the drive, he almost keeps driving. But instead, he stops, enters the house, and yells, “Come and get me.” Finch’s dad comes running, followed by Finch’s mom and Rosemarie, and he hurls Finch across the kitchen. Finch laughs and tells his dad he doesn’t feel the beatings anymore. When his dad reaches to punch Finch again, Finch grabs his dad’s wrist and tells him not to do that again. Surprisingly, this works. Finch goes to his room and leaves his door open, but no one comes to check on him or beat him. He types Violet an apology but says he doesn’t regret anything. Violet replies that she doesn’t regret it either, and Finch writes that Violet showed him a perfect day.
Seeing Finch’s dad lash out violently like this shows readers what Finch has presumably been dealing with his entire life. Being punished physically like this for his transgression also starts to explain why Finch doesn’t feel comfortable confiding in his family or being open with them. If telling them something they don’t want to hear will only result in violence, it’s no wonder that Finch tends to keep to himself. Finch does, however, learn that he can advocate for himself and gain control over some aspects of his life, since his dad leaves him alone after Finch speaks up.
Themes
The next morning, Finch rings the doorbell at Violet’s house. Violet’s mom answers and apologetically asks if he’s okay, but she doesn’t move to let him in. Finch asks to come in and speak to them as Violet’s dad appears in the door and tells Finch to leave. At home a bit later, Finch searches for EleanorandViolet.com, but the site is gone—just like Violet. He messages Violet on Facebook, and they discuss how angry her parents are. Violet says it’s her fault, but her parents just need time. Finch writes that he doesn’t have time, but he erases the message without sending it.
Finch tries to continue to create the world he wants by speaking to Violet’s parents. But in their minds, the best way to support their daughter is to keep Finch away. Not being able to find EleanorandViolet.com suggests that the site has finally expired—but it also means that Finch is now going to struggle to connect with Violet through her writing. And writing that he doesn’t have time suggests that he’s losing his grasp on being “awake” and that he may fall into another period of “sleep” (depression) soon.
Themes
