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Chapter 4
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Dear Martin, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Privilege, Entitlement, and Implicit Bias
Appearances and Assumptions
Support, Acceptance, and Belonging
Opportunity and Upward Mobility
The Media and Public Discourse
Summary
Analysis
“Dear Martin,” Justyce writes in his diary, explaining that he has decided to go home after his rough day at school. Tired of dealing with his classmates’ insensitivity, he makes the decision to never return to Braselton Prep. When he gets to his mother’s house and sees her reading, though, he’s reminded of the fact that she worked extremely hard to teach him to read. Thinking about this, he suddenly knows that he’ll be headed back to Braselton before nightfall. Nevertheless, he advances into the room, and his mother asks why he’s there. When he struggles to answer, she guesses that he’s upset about the Shemar Carson case. Admitting that this is true, he says it feels like everything he’s doing in life is a “losing battle.”
The attitude Justyce’s mother adopts regarding his education exemplifies what SJ tried to get Jared to understand in class. The fact that she had to work extra hard to make sure he would have a solid education is significant, since a family like Jared’s could most likely assume that he would receive a good education regardless of what they did. Indeed, Justyce’s mother sees his schooling as a fantastic opportunity, one he can use to create a good life for himself. However, this kind of encouragement doesn’t necessarily help him process things like the Shemar Carson case, especially in the aftermath of his encounter with Officer Castillo. Once again, readers see that Justyce is processing a great deal more than the majority of his peers, as he tries to focus on school while also contending with racism and a society that projects prejudiced messages.
Themes
“Hard being a black man, ain’t it?” Justyce’s mother asks. He admits that it is, and when he tries to explain why, he says that he can’t figure out where he “fit[s]” at Braselton Prep. “I’ve been there my whole high school career,” he says, “and I still feel like an outsider, you know?” As he complains, his mother crosses her arms, eventually saying, “So watchu gon’ do? Run away?” Going on, she tells him that coming home won’t make his problems go away. “At least I’d be around people who know the struggle,” he says, but she laughs at this, simply telling him to go back to school. “Goodbye, Justyce. I didn’t raise you to punk out when the going gets rough. Get on outta here,” she says. On the bus ride back, he realizes that his mother’s right: there’s nothing he can possibly do but “keep going.”
Justyce feels out of place at Braselton Prep precisely because of the outlook people like Jared exhibit, ignoring the reality of racial inequality in the United States. Justyce himself has recently experienced racism firsthand, but his peers have no idea what it’s like to undergo such an encounter. As a result, Justyce has trouble feeling like he belongs at school. His mother, however, is focused on pushing him forward, concentrating solely on helping him attain upward mobility. And while she is certainly a positive influence, she doesn’t manage in this moment to support him in any kind of emotional sense. At this point, this lack of emotional support isn’t particularly detrimental to Justyce’s wellbeing, but it’s worth noting that he might someday yearn for a more wholistic kind of guidance instead of the straightforward encouragement and motivation his mother gives him here.
Themes
