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Chapter 49
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Same Kind of Different as Me, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Slavery and Racism
Homelessness
Reconciliation
Christian Faith
Charity, Love, and Ego
Summary
Analysis
Ron continues his narration. Another day passes. Ron stops sleeping, instead laying awake each night next to his wife. Ron’s business partner Michael comes to visit and say goodbye to Deborah. Although Michael is not religious, he is overcome by the sense of some sort of presence in the room and falls to his knees, weeping, and says, “We are on holy ground.” He rises, thanks Deborah for praying for him throughout the years, and places a picture of his son in her palm, asking Deborah to watch over him from heaven. “The moment later became a mystery. No one ever saw that picture […] again.” As Ron walks Michael out, Michael tells Ron that he believes he just had an encounter with God and he’ll never be the same. As he leaves, Ron wonders if his wife’s work is finally done.
Ron’s narrative heavily implies that a miracle has taken place, in which God apparently whisks the picture away to heaven so Deborah can keep it while she is there. While some readers will certainly be skeptical of this, Ron’s own treatment of the event suggests that it is not a critical element of the story and does not heavily affect its development. Ron simply observes that the picture is there one moment and gone the next, choosing to forego any attempt at interpreting the event’s significance.
Themes
