Previous
Chapter 11
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in What the Eyes Don’t See, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Racism and Environmental Injustice
Truth vs. Corruption
Community Values and Collective Duty
The American Dream
Family, Tradition, and Strength
Summary
Analysis
Even though Elin thought it was risky for Mona to reach out to the “radioactive” Marc Edwards, Mona knew she was onto something—and that she had to start laying the groundwork and finding allies for the fight ahead. Elin emailed Marc on Mona’s behalf, and Marc wrote Elin back almost right away, offering advice about where Mona’s studies should focus their data. Excited, Mona emailed Marc back and, knowing he’d be in Flint the following week, invited him to lunch. Marc agreed to meet up and compare notes.
Mona’s choice to connect with Marc Edwards in spite of his “radioactive” reputation as a whistleblower shows how desperate she was to find a swift answer for the people of Flint. Mona knew that she had to tread carefully with her own research—but her alliance with Marc shows that she was ultimately less concerned about appearances than she was about action.
Themes
Meanwhile, Mona and Jenny continued working diligently on their research. Mona knew that their work had to be airtight—there could be nothing suspect about any of it. On top of all this, the study had to be done quickly: real lives were at stake. One afternoon, when Mona was attending her children’s soccer game on a field near Elin’s new house, Elin came by to watch. Mona showed Elin a printout of her research. Elin looked at the data and was too stunned to speak. When she could finally find the words, she agreed with Mona: the children of Flint were being poisoned, and state officials were letting it happen.
This passage illustrates the difficult position Mona found herself in as her preliminary research trickled in. She couldn’t reveal too much too soon, because she knew that if there were any gaps in her work at all she’d be immediately discredited by the government institutions looking to paper over their own misdeeds. But she also knew that there was an urgency behind her work: the children of Flint were being exposed to lead each and every day that no one spoke out or took any action.
Themes
That evening, Mona emailed Melany Gavulic, her boss and the CEO of Hurley, to try to gauge Melany’s support for the research project. Mona knew she might have a political battle ahead of her. She knew that her and Jenny’s research could be ready as soon as the following week, and that the situation could “explode” after that. Melany requested a meeting with Mona and Jenny the following day, during which she underscored the importance of keeping their findings quiet until everyone was sure that they were “unassailable.”
Mona’s boss, too, knew the delicate nature of the research Mona and Jenny were doing. But she wasn’t daunted or offput by their project—instead, she wanted to help them speak up on behalf of their patients and communities.
Themes
Back in her office, the anxious and sleep-deprived Mona called a friend and colleague, Lawrence Reynolds, the CEO of a nearby medical facility where many Flint kids were treated. She told Reynolds—a local Black doctor and community activist—about the problems with the water and her struggles getting any blood-lead data from the county or state. Within an hour, Reynolds emailed Mona, stating that he, too, was now working on getting in touch with the state. Mona had yet another ally in Flint.
Mona continued adding to her team allies whom she knew would have a serious stake in what was happening in Flint. Reynolds understood intimately how racism and environmental injustice had impacted the city—and he, too, was a medical professional who would realize the delicate balance that needed to be struck going forward in order to bring real change to Flint.
Themes
Get the entire What the Eyes Don’t See LitChart as a printable PDF.
That afternoon, Mona struggled to listen to one of her residents’ lectures as part of a weekly Friday conference series. During a break in the lecture, one of Mona’s students, Allison Schnepp, approached her to ask her if she was all right. Mona realized that the toll her work was taking on her was starting to become visible to those around her. She needed to be strong for her impressionable, empathetic residents.
This passage illustrates the emotional toll Mona’s work was beginning to take on her. She was under a tremendous amount of pressure, and not just because she knew that with every passing moment the citizens of Flint were consuming contaminated water—she was beginning to reckon anew with the structural racism and environmental injustices that defined life for so many in Flint.
Themes
