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Part VII: Diary 112
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Freedom Writers Diary, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Race, Ethnicity, and Tolerance
Education and Healing
Family and Home
Violence, War, and Death
Summary
Analysis
This student describes having to celebrate Christmas only a few days after her/his mother’s death. She was diagnosed with terminal cancer a month earlier but hadn’t expected to die so soon, and the student feels overwhelmed by the thought of not celebrating Christmas in their usual way. S/he wonders if s/he should give her/his mother’s gifts to her/his sister. Due to the suddenness of her/his mother’s death, s/he wasn’t even able to say goodbye to her.
While other students are commonly faced with death due to gang-related violence, this student experiences the senselessness death from within her/his family. Her/his practical considerations about her/his mother’s Christmas gifts suggest that this ordeal has forced her/him to grow up and take on adult responsibilities.
Themes
S/he feels that s/he has suddenly become an adult, alone, with no guidance. Despite Ms. Gruwell and the Freedom Writers’ help, s/he feels unable to share her pain, and does not understand why s/he cannot accept other people’s help. S/he concludes that s/he needs to try and open up, so that s/he can accept their comfort as a second family.
The student feels isolated and lonely from having lost a family member, but is still able to benefit from the love and comfort that the Freedom Writers provide. The group demonstrates that no one should ever be deprived of a family’s support, however many adult responsibilities one might have to take on.
Themes
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