Pride vs. Humility Theme Analysis

The Lincoln Highway follows a large cast of characters, but its protagonist is Emmett, who struggles with pridefulness and an inability to accept help. Sister Agnes, one of the nuns who raised Duchess, asks Emmett to look out for Duchess and reminds him “we do not always get to choose to whom we should show our charity.” Emmett seems to take this to heart; rather than seeking revenge, he focuses his efforts on reclaiming his car from Duchess and convincing Duchess to finish his sentence at Salina. In fact, Emmett displays a natural inclination to help people. He volunteers to paint a nursery for the baby Sarah is expecting, and insists on cleaning up the mess he contributed to in Sarah’s kitchen despite her insistence that the housekeeper will tend to it. These efforts suggest a certain humility on Emmett’s part.

In contrast to his helpful nature, though, Emmett pridefully resists all efforts by other people to help him. This strains his relationship with Sally, who tells Emmett that he is too preoccupied with insisting he doesn’t need help to ever thank her for all she does for him. He resents Ulysses for assuming a position of leadership over Emmett and Billy, even though Ulysses is many years older than Emmett and is an expert at riding the rails. When he is looking for Duchess in New York City, Emmett gets lost because he is too proud to ask for directions. Emmett’s resistance to help conflicts with Billy’s desire to take on the role of “Xenos” (a helper) on behalf of his brother. In the brothers’ final confrontation with Duchess, Billy is the one who deduces that Duchess’s gun is unloaded and figures out the code to Woolly’s grandfather’s safe. Though Emmett takes the lead in physically subduing Duchess, he would likely not have escaped the situation without Billy’s help, and he certainly would not have escaped it with $100,000 in cash. Emmett’s instinct to help others and refuse all offers of help in return endangers him and puts pressure on his relationships, and he finds his happy ending only after he finally humbles himself by accepting help from Billy, a literal child. Emmett’s struggle with pride suggests that while the instinct to help others is admirable, true humility—and even success—consists in the willingness to accept help from others, too.