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Part 3, Chapter 4: Leaving
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
When Vargas received Nancy Pelosi’s invitation and his friend Alida’s email, he realized that he wouldn’t let Donald Trump scare him into leaving his country. While he doesn’t have legal papers, he has his own kind of citizenship: “citizenship of participation.” He agreed to go to the Capitol, and he even wrote an article about this for the Washington Post. He wrote about how immigrants show up, even when they face challenges and dangers, because they love their families and their country. Then, after going to D.C., he left his L.A. apartment and started moving around, without keeping a permanent address.
Vargas again chose public service over private safety. He claims a right to civic pride by redefining “citizen,” just like he claimed a right to being American by redefining “American” in a positive way in line with his values. While redefining “citizen” in his own mind won’t give Vargas legal papers, it does enable him to overcome his longstanding doubt and anxiety about whether he deserves citizenship. He knows that, in reality, citizenship doesn’t go to people based on who deserves it. But he has also decided that, in a fair world where citizenship did go to those who truly belonged to their country, he certainly would deserve it. In this way, then, Vargas feels that he has a kind of moral U.S. citizenship. The U.S. will always be his country and his home, even if he doesn’t have the right papers.
Themes
