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Chapter 24: March 16, 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
In the present, Eva watches TV alone in her house. She comes across a documentary about Kevin, and Kevin is being interviewed. Kevin recites to the interviewer almost verbatim some of what Eva has always ranted about—that Americans never want to take ownership of their actions. Kevin talks disparagingly about Franklin, calling him a fraud, and saying that Franklin never really knew Kevin. He defends Eva, though. He’s tired of people blaming Eva for his murders. The camera reveals that the only thing on Kevin’s cell wall is a photo of Eva. The interviewer asks Kevin why he did it. Kevin explains that no one ever does anything exciting, but people love watching murderers on TV.
This is the first instant that Eva has real insight into Kevin’s true feelings. It seems that Kevin has always secretly admired Eva and perhaps even relates to her. Kevin’s answer about his motive for the murders reiterates the idea that he will chase excitement to a catastrophic degree. It also suggests his desire for attention and recognition. Eva can relate to these motives.
Themes
In court immediately after the murders, the opposing council asks Eva about warning signs that they think should have been obvious. Eva explains that she was genuinely unalarmed that Kevin ordered many arrows for his crossbow because he had been doing so for a long time. The only change she noticed in her son was that he begins to speak to her in the same fake enthusiastic tone he’d always used with Franklin. She assumed this was a result of Kevin overhearing his parents talk about getting a divorce. Actually, Franklin and Eva somehow grew closer after that conversation, even though the topic still loomed tacitly between them.
Perhaps it is true that Eva didn’t notice changes in Kevin’s behavior leading up to the murders, but there certainly were warning signs that Kevin might commit such a crime—he had been violent toward people before, he defended the school shooters on the news, and he is a chronic liar and manipulator, among other troubling incidents. Eva was certainly negligent to ignore these warning signs, but it’s also plausible that she became desensitized to his problematic behavior after seeing it—and seeing Franklin disregard it— for his entire life.
Themes
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