Previous
Part 1, Chapter 2
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Our Missing Hearts, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Free Speech, Patriotism, and the Corruption of Truth
Surveillance, Fear, and Discrimination
The Power of Art and Imagination
Parental Responsibility, Rights, and Experience
Privilege, Silence, and Complicity
Summary
Analysis
Ignoring Ethan’s instructions to go straight home from school, Bird visits the public library for the first time. He remembers his father telling him the origin of the word “library,” linking it back to trees and the layered histories inside them. Sadie called the library a castle and visited it every day. Bird is the only person there besides the librarian (Carina). He wanders through the shelves, noting several blank spaces where books have been removed. He does not find Margaret’s book of poetry, and he suddenly feels it was a mistake to come here. Lurking in the stacks, he watches the librarian and waits for her to turn so he can leave.
The fact that Bird has never visited the library shows how rare it is for people to seek out information outside of the internet’s pre-approved (and monitored) channels. Ethan and Sadie’s descriptions of the library as multilayered and labyrinthine feel exaggerated, given how many titles have been removed because of their potential to promote un-American ideas; instead, these descriptions provide a contrast to show how PACT has massively changed libraries since it was implemented.
Themes
Bird sees Carina flipping through books as if looking for something. She pulls a small slip of paper from between the pages of a book but hides it quickly when she spots Bird spying. He tells her he is looking for a story about a boy and cats, certain he is about to be punished. But the librarian thinks hard and leads him to the library’s folklore section, trying in vain to find what Bird is looking for. Bird tries to leave, but she stops him, saying there is an old Japanese folktale about cats, but it won’t be on the shelf.
Although it is not clear why she does it, Carina’s deliberate hiding of the slip of paper draws attention to the way surveillance states create a culture of fearful paranoia. That Bird expects punishment but receives help instead characterizes librarians as unfailingly informative and helpful, at odds with this world’s tendency toward censorship.
Themes
Carina leads Bird through the staff room into an old loading dock where holds were once delivered. Now, the room is used for storage. She flips through an old card catalog and finds the book Bird is looking for—The Boy Who Drew Cats. Bird recognizes the title, but the librarian tells him the book was removed several years ago for encouraging sympathy for people of Asian origin. The library depends on its donors and has to cater to their political whims in order to stay operational, hence the book’s removal. Bird asks her for one more book—Our Missing Hearts, Margaret’s poetry collection.
The decrease in library patronage is once again apparent in the unused loading dock. From what Carina says, it seems that being written by a person of Asian origin is all it takes for a book to be removed, since it seems unlikely that a book of Japanese folktales contained anti-American sentiments. The public library’s dependency on donor funds means it cannot retain a balanced and impartial collection, especially with PACT deeming so many things unpatriotic.
Themes
Carina appraises Bird before telling him she doubts he will find Our Missing Hearts anywhere. Bird asks what they did with all the books they removed, provoking a sarcastic response from the librarian. In America, she explains, people don’t burn books: they pulp them. Thinking of Margaret’s books being destroyed makes Bird’s eyes well up. The librarian curses PACT, shocking Bird. She tells him he might be able to find the cat book in a university library. She wishes him good luck, calling him Bird, but he does not realize until later that he never told her his name.
The complete eradication of Margaret’s poetry collection suggests that extreme suppression of ideas is possible and has happened in this world. It also implies that the government perceived Margaret’s poetry as a significant threat to its power. Carina articulates how burning and pulping books amounts to the same thing: total erasure. Her open disdain for PACT is the first time Bird has witnessed an adult espousing such radical (and dangerous) viewpoints. The fact that Carina knows Bird’s name without him telling her suggests a connection with Margaret and possibly anti-PACT resistance.
Themes
Get the entire Our Missing Hearts LitChart as a printable PDF.
