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Chapter 29
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in My Beloved World, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Optimism, Determination, and Adversity
Family and Friendship
Education and Learning
Puerto Rican Identity and Culture
Morality, Justice, and Giving Back
Summary
Analysis
Sonia says that, looking back, it seems like it’s been a long time since she became a judge. As a judge, she’s continued her professional journey and her journey to support her friends and family. Six years after becoming a judge she’s nominated to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals; 12 years after that, she’s nominated to the Supreme Court. The hearings and vetting process gets increasingly harder, but her community of supportive friends and colleagues grows. As her first official act as a judge of the Second Circuit, Sonia marries Mami and Omar. This is Sonia’s way of thanking Mami.
By making it clear that she continues to learn and grow even after achieving her goals, Sonia drives home that people should never stop being students. Whether they need to continue to learn for their job or not, life is richer and more fulfilling when a person can continually find things to strive for and learn about. Marrying Mami and Omar helps Sonia reaffirm her love for her family, and to show Mami that she’s a part of Sonia’s success.
Themes
Sonia has to learn to think like a judge, just as she learned to think like a lawyer. She’s happy to do so, and she loves teaching and talking with her clerks. Her education continues on the Supreme Court. People ask her often what she wants her legacy to be. Her goal is to have her legacy grow to be something more than she can imagine at this point.
For Sonia, it’s not enough to say that she wants to be remembered. Rather, what’s important is that her words take on greater meaning as time goes on—so that they can teach others about the law, about learning, and about family.
Themes
Sonia recalls a memory from high school. During her junior year, she attended a conference of girls from Catholic schools. In discussions, she fought constantly with one girl. Sonia loved the argument more than her ideas and she wanted to learn. She could tell that this girl, though, was growing increasingly angry. When the conference was over, Sonia asked what the hostility was about. The girl accused Sonia of not being able to take a stand and of not having any principles. Sonia figured that if a person held onto principle too tightly, they’d miss out on context and stop thinking.
At this conference, the point for Sonia is to argue, not necessarily to defend her position at all costs. This points back to how much she loved Forensics Club—she can defend anything and relishes the opportunity to learn about it. And she also understands that if she doesn’t continue to learn, she’ll never be able to figure out how she feels about something. Without continually discovering new things, a person’s ideas become stagnant.
Themes
Sonia has spent her life dealing with that girl’s accusation. She believes that there’s something wrong with a person without principles, just as there are values that cannot be compromised. However, she still believes that it’s important to judge each situation based on context and treat individuals with dignity and respect. She says that she’s always been able to find something to learn from every person and experience. Sonia hopes that she’ll continue to evolve as a person and not just as a judge.
Even as a judge, the most important part of Sonia’s job is to hand down rulings that give people dignity and respect. In this sense, her community is still the most important thing in her life—she wants to make sure that she’s helping everyone in it feel welcome and at home, even as that community expands to now include the entire United States.
Themes
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Sonia recalls seeing Mami cry as Sonia took the oath of office for the Supreme Court. She admires Mami and credits Mami with teaching her compassion and courage. She watched Junior cry, along with family from New York and Puerto Rico, and she felt the presence of friends who recently died, including Dave Botwinik. When Sonia caught the president’s eye, she felt a surge of gratitude. She suddenly remembered running in Puerto Rico with a melting sweet treat, feeling overjoyed just to be alive. Sonia feels blessed.
As she celebrates this achievement of being sworn into the Supreme Court, she makes it clear that she didn’t do it alone—Dave helped her, Mami and Junior helped her, and her Puerto Rican family and history helped her get to this point. Without her family and the support of her culture, she couldn’t have gotten here.
Themes
