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Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in On Beauty, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Nature of Beauty
Politics in Academia
Race and Identity
The Value of Family
Summary
Analysis
Howard Belsey is a professor originally from Britain who currently teaches in the United States and has an American wife named Kiki Simmonds who is from Florida. He is white and she is Black, so their children are all biracial. Howard prints Jerome’s latest email and shows it to Kiki. It’s breakfast time, and their children Zora and Levi are eating in silence.
Howard’s name is a reference to Howards End, the novel by E.M. Forster that loosely inspired On Beauty. It may also be a reference to Howard University, a famous historically Black university whose alumni include the author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston (a possible namesake for Howard’s daughter Zora). Howard is himself white. His marriage to Kiki forces him to consider race in a way that his other white colleagues at Wellington College often don’t, although Howard maintains some of his own blind spots.
Themes
Kiki’s introduction in the novel reveals immediately how different she is from Howard. For example, her ability to find humor in Jerome’s situation suggests that she isn’t as uptight as Howard and perhaps hints at how her American upbringing has made her different from the British Howard. Kiki seems to be uncomfortable around Monique because, despite their shared racial identity, their lives are very different: Kiki enjoys an upper-middle class lifestyle while Monique works a low-paid cleaning job.
Themes
Jerome and Zora were born in England, while Levi was born in America. When Levi turned 12, he somehow developed a Brooklyn accent. He doesn’t pay much attention to what the other family members do. Kiki tells Levi and Zora about Jerome’s possible marriage to Victoria, although she and Howard still aren’t sure if Jerome is serious or just looking for attention.
Although Levi isn’t that much younger than his other siblings, his birth in America seems to play a crucial role in his identity. Levi’s “Brooklyn” accent seems to be inspired by New York City hip-hop, showing how as much as rap music emphasizes local pride, it also brings local culture to a national or even international audience.
Themes
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Kiki is 52 years old and 250 pounds, and she looks much younger than Howard, even though they’re around the same age. As she and Howard talk more about Jerome, Howard says he’s headed to Cambridge, England, for a talk soon, so he might as well go a day early to see Jerome in London. Kiki knows that Howard doesn’t like the idea of Jerome marrying Victoria, but she warns Howard that modern parents can’t pick spouses for their children like they did in the past.
The description of Kiki’s age and weight raises questions about the nature of beauty. Later, the book will address Kiki’s insecurity about her appearance, revealing how the American beauty ideal for women emphasizes being young, thin, and white. Meanwhile, Howard looks visibly older than Kiki but doesn’t seem to feel any particular pressure about improving his appearance, showing how beauty standards don’t have the same impact on men.
Themes
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