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Chapter 19: February 24, 2001
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in We Need to Talk About Kevin, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Guilt and Accountability
Marriage, Family, and Social Norms
Nature vs. Nurture
Idealism vs. Reality
Forgiveness and Empathy
Summary
Analysis
When Kevin is 14, police come to the door with Kevin and Lenny and report that the two boys were throwing bricks down on cars from a bridge. Eva is surprised and pleased when Franklin reacts with outrage—he yells and swears at Kevin. Franklin talks to Kevin privately, and when Franklin emerges, he is perfectly calm. He explains to Eva that the whole event had been Lenny’s idea—Kevin had discouraged Lenny but gone along with it anyway. Eva tells Franklin that the only reason Kevin likes Lenny is because Lenny is unintelligent and will do anything Kevin wants. Later, Eva overhears Kevin and Lenny talking. Kevin says that Lenny owes him because Kevin took the blame. Kevin, on the other hand, doesn’t like being associated with the event because he has “standards” and throwing bricks over a bridge is “trite.”
When Eva overhears Kevin and Lenny’s conversation, she has definite proof that Kevin seeks to cause destruction and harm and that Kevin consistently lies to Franklin. Again, Franklin denies that Kevin’s behavior is problematic. He is so determined to preserve his fantasy of his perfect family that he chooses to believe his son’s obvious lies over police officers.
Themes
