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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
The whole Belsey family takes a taxi into Boston to a Mozart concert because their car is in the shop. The concert was Jerome’s idea. Howard has been angry at his university ever since he found out about Monty coming. Zora tells Howard gossip from campus, but no one even considers how Jerome might feel about Monty coming with his family.
Jerome tries to make his own family more like the Kippses (or at least more like Jerome’s idealized mental image of the Kippses). Jerome’s efforts don’t appear to be particularly successful, however, because Howard continues to be more concerned with his feud with Monty than he is with his own family.
Themes
No one is especially excited about the concert, but they want to support Jerome’s idea. When they get there, Jerome is disappointed by the long line. Levi says he could hop a fence easily if he wanted to. Zora says it’s ridiculous for Levi to pretend to be “street” when he’s from Wellington. Eventually, Levi leaves the group and goes on ahead.
Jerome seems to want to attend the concert because he considers Mozart (and classical music in general) high culture. Levi is the one member of the family who identifies more with “low” culture like hip-hop, and so he expresses this feeling by leaving.
Themes
As the Belseys walk inside the concert hall, Howard runs into Erskine and the Dean of the Humanities, Jack French. Dean French is a good-looking man who could be anywhere between 52 and 79 years old. Jack notices that Levi is gone, and the adults talk about how children seem so naturally eager to get away from their parents. Erskine volunteers to take Howard’s kids for him.
In addition to being a signifier of high culture, Mozart is also a chance for the people of Wellington to socialize and network. Dean French seems at ease in the presence of Howard and Erskine, but later parts of the book reveal that, like Howard, Dean French quickly loses his ability to communicate when he has to do so outside his comfort zone.
Themes
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Zora tries to impress Dean French by talking about some recent events on campus, which embarrasses Howard. Howard tells Zora not to talk too much to the dean, then he happens to mention that he and Kiki are throwing a party for their thirtieth wedding anniversary. The dean asks about the date, but before Howard can respond, an announcement at the concert cuts him off.
Howard dislikes Zora trying to network with Dean French even though Howard himself was more or less trying to do the same thing. Zora is the Belsey child who is clearest about her ambition to grow up to be like Howard, and the fact that she often makes Howard uncomfortable suggests that Howard doesn’t like getting a view at how others must see him.
Themes
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