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Chapter 16
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Among the Hidden, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Propaganda, Fear, and Control
Privilege, Wealth, and Perspective
Protest and Resistance
Coming of Age, Independence, and Family
Summary
Analysis
Over the next three days, Luke does nothing but remember his visit with Jen or think of his next visit. He can’t go anywhere, though, because a Government inspector is on the farm the first day and Jen doesn’t answer his signal on the third. What if she’s sick, or what if she’s been turned in? Luke tells himself that maybe Jen’s parents are just planning to be home during the day. Finally, Jen signals back on the fourth day and Luke races over.
Luke’s whole world has shifted since meeting Jen. While he hasn’t been happy in a while just sitting in the attic, now he has something concrete to think about: his new friend. His fear for Jen’s safety shows just how vulnerable Luke believes shadow children are. He doesn’t truly believe she’s just busy and not in trouble until he sees her in person again.
Themes
Jen explains that Jen’s mom made her go shopping yesterday. Seeing Luke’s incredulous look, Jen says the backseat of her family’s car is hollowed out so she can hide, and then she has a forged shopping pass that says she’s her mom’s niece. She could still die if the Population Police found her, but her mom clearly thinks shopping is more important than Jen’s life. Luke tries to picture hiding in the truck bed and going to town, but that won’t work. Everyone in town knows Mother and Dad only have two sons. Jen says that shopping in the city was boring. Her mom wanted to buy her a dress and bras.
It's never occurred to Luke that third children could go out in public. Jen continues to make his life feel extremely small by telling him about all the things she can do—and that Luke knows he can’t. Jen’s tone is also pretty cutting as she talks about her mom prioritizing shopping over her daughter’s safety. But the issue, Jen seems to imply, is her mother—she doesn’t seem nearly as afraid of the Population Police.
Themes
Changing the subject, Jen says that she looked Luke up yesterday and he’s “safe.” Officially, he doesn’t exist. Jen explains that she used Brownley’s old fingerprinting kit to check one of Luke’s prints against the national database. Luke wants to ask if the Population Police can find him now, but he barely understands what Jen is even describing.
Luke might not know exactly what Jen is talking about, but he knows enough about the Government to realize that Jen could’ve put him in real danger by scanning his fingerprint. Even if the Population Police might not be able to locate him, they may still know now that some other illegal child exists.
Themes
Not noticing Luke’s confusion, Jen says she can tell him about the rally and the secret chat rooms. But first, she offers potato chips and soda to Luke. Luke notes that these things are illegal. The Government shut down junk food factories years ago. Luke has only had potato chips once; Mother shared a bag with him that she’d saved for years and Luke didn’t like them, though he pretended to. Jen shoves a bowl of chips at Luke—and these chips are delicious.
Though Mother seems to have intended the potato chips as a treat, potato chips don’t keep for years—so it’s no wonder Luke didn’t like them. Pretending to like them was Luke’s attempt to protect Mother’s feelings, something that highlights Luke’s maturity. Jen’s chips, though, are presumably fresh and tasty. Luke is getting another perspective on how little his family has compared to the wealthy.
Themes
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Jen asks if Luke ever goes hungry. Luke says he doesn’t, but Jen explains that lots of shadow children do. They don’t have ration cards, and their families don’t always share. Luke says that his food comes from his family’s garden, and when they still had pigs, they’d trade for beef and such. Jen is incredulous—she doesn’t get meat often. She explains that the Government is trying to make everyone, even Barons, eat vegetarian diets since vegetables are more efficient. Luke notes that his family used to feed the grain the Government didn’t want to their hogs, but now Dad lets the excess grain rot.
In some ways, Luke enjoys privileges that even wealthy people like Jen can’t, such as having regular access to fresh meat. It’s also interesting that Luke seems to have no idea that the Government is trying to make people eat vegetarian diets, which suggests that they perhaps aren’t paying as much attention to poor farmers as much as Luke’s parents think they are. The aside about Dad having to let his grain rot now also shows that the Government isn’t very efficient: it may insist it is, but in reality it’s creating a system that produces a lot of waste.
Themes
Suddenly ecstatic, Jen says she’s going to post that on a bulletin board and leads Luke into the computer room. She boots up her computer as Luke stands carefully to the side, where he can’t see the screen. Jen tells him to sit down—the Government is “incompetent and stupid,” and they’re not watching. Luke sits and watches Jen type that there would be more meat if the Government would let farmers feed their animals excess grain. The words then disappear. Jen explains that she put it on a Department of Agriculture bulletin board; hopefully someone will see it, think about it, and change things.
As far as Jen is concerned, Luke doesn’t need to be as careful as he is. But Luke has been trained his whole life to believe his life depends on being careful, so breaking these habits is difficult for him. It’s also hard to comprehend the possibility that the Government is “incompetent and stupid,” since Luke’s family believes the Government is all-knowing, all-seeing, and all-powerful. Posting Luke’s observation about the grain is the first way Jen demonstrates to Luke that they can protest and advocate for a better, fairer world.
Themes
Luke is extremely confused. Jen explains that this matters because the Government passed the Population Law to make sure people would always have enough food. Outlawing third children was supposed to make sure everyone else had enough to eat. Suddenly, Luke feels extremely guilty about the potato chips. He thinks that his food would just go to Mark and Matthew, who aren’t starving—but he also remembers the homeless man who hadn’t eaten in three days.
Notice that as soon as Jen explains the Government’s reasoning for the Population Law, Luke immediately feels guilty. He’s compassionate and doesn’t want to hurt people—but he also believes what the Government says, so it never occurs to him to consider whether the Government is actually right or not. And he knows that at least a few people are hungry, which seems to give more credence to the Government’s position.
Themes
Jen laughs and says the Government is wrong. According to Jen’s dad, there’s enough food, but it’s not distributed right. They have to abolish the Population Law, and that’s why Jen is organizing the rally. The rally, she explains, is going to entail hundreds of shadow children marching on the president’s house to demand the same rights as everyone else. Luke can come too. It’ll be great.
Finally, Jen explains exactly what’s going on with the rally. By proposing a rally, Jen suggests that it’s her responsibility to stand up to the Government and advocate for rights for kids like her. Participating like this, in her opinion, is the only way to change things for the better.
Themes
