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Part 2, Chapter 10: Bylines
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Dear America, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Citizenship, Belonging, and Identity
Family, Love, and Intimacy
Immigration Politics and Policy
Journalism, Storytelling, and the Power of Truth
Summary
Analysis
In March 2008, in Texas, a sheriff pulled Vargas over on the highway for speeding. He was in a rush because he was covering the Democratic primary election between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and he had a tight deadline. Worrying that the sheriff would find out about his immigration status, he peed his pants. Fortunately, the sheriff let him go. Throughout 2007 and 2008, Vargas drove all around the country to cover the campaign. But he always felt like, even though he was covering history, he didn’t belong there. He was always worried, even when everything seemed to be going in his favor.
This experience highlights how Vargas’s immigration status forced him to live a double life. Publicly, he was a star reporter with significant power to shape the country’s view of important political events. But privately, his place in the U.S. was still constantly under threat. As Vargas’s career advanced, the distance between his two selves became ever greater—and so did his anxiety about being outed as undocumented. Since he had no legal path to citizenship, it seemed like nothing could ever truly guarantee his place in the U.S.
Themes
