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Chapter 24
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
Luke lies awake all the rest of the night and in the morning, he gets up and scrubs the mud Jen tracked in off the stairs. Hopefully she thought about all the details for the rally. He just has time to hide his dirty rags and sneak back to bed when Mother gets up. She notes that she heard something during the night, so Luke says truthfully that he had trouble sleeping. But he insists he’s fine.
Luke demonstrates his loyalty to Jen by hiding the fact that she visited at all. But he remains anxious and hopeful that the rally will be successful, assuming Jen thought of everything she needed to. Insisting he’s fine is another way he shows how mature he’s become, as he’s unwilling to burden Mother with his concerns.
Themes
Once Mother, Dad, Matthew, and Mark leave, Luke risks turning on the radio. He listens to weather reports, music, and news of a car wreck, but nothing about the rally. When Dad comes inside for lunch, Luke asks him to turn the radio on again. Again, there’s nothing about the rally, and this continues for days. Luke listens to the radio when he can and flashes his signal toward Jen’s house, but she never responds. He watches Jen’s family closely, but they seem to be behaving normally. Desperately, he suggests Mother go introduce herself to the new neighbors—but Mother scoffs that they’re Barons and have been in their house for months now. By the end of the week, Luke decides to come up with a plan.
Luke listens to the radio because, presumably, he expects the Government to tell the truth about whatever happens at the rally. When he hears nothing in the days after the rally was supposed to take place, though, it seems as though Luke once again overestimated the Government, or misjudged its aims. Eventually, Luke feels like he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands. It’s essential, he believes, to find out what happened to Jen—and to do so, he must act alone.
Themes
