Previous
3. Woolly (3)
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Lincoln Highway, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Stories, Truth, and Lies
Debts and Atonement
Maturity and Responsibility
Adventure
Pride vs. Humility
Summary
Analysis
Emmett is ashamed of the mess he and the others made in Sarah’s house. He believes Dennis is justified in his anger, and his shame is only worsened by Sarah’s gracious response to their behavior. Though Sarah tells Emmett to leave the mess for the housekeeper, he starts to clean up, and Sally helps him. He feels comforted to know that Sally shares his sense of right and wrong.
Emmett was able to relax and enjoy himself over dinner, but he quickly returns to his guilt-ridden, duty-minded demeanor. His instinct to clean the kitchen speaks to his desire to make amends for his misdeeds through meaningful action. He could not do anything to undo the death of Jimmy Snyder, but he can clean the mess he and the others made in Sarah’s kitchen.
Themes
