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Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in With the Fire on High, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Coming of Age and Teen Parenthood
Creativity vs. Professional Norms
Food and Connection
Caregiving, Independence, and Identity
Support, Community, and Mentorship
Summary
Analysis
It’s now evening; Emoni fell asleep earlier during lunch and is cuddling with Babygirl in bed. ’Buela comes partway into Emoni’s room and asks if Emoni has checked her college acceptances yet. Emoni notices that ’Buela isn’t wearing her wedding band, and she just wants to snuggle into ’Buela. Shaking her head, Emoni logs onto her accounts at the various schools. Temple University, LaSalle, and Arcadia are all rejections. Emoni suggests they check Drexel tomorrow so it doesn’t ruin their night. ’Buela urges Emoni on, so Emoni logs onto Drexel’s site. The world slows, and Emoni holds her phone out to ’Buela. ’Buela sobs that her granddaughter is going to college and tells Emoni to call Julio.
Especially combined with the fact that Mr. Jagoda referred to ’Buela by her first name last night, it seems significant that ’Buela isn’t wearing her wedding ring. Like Emoni, she may have taken the Spain trip as an opportunity to explore romantic options. Emoni still feels childish and in need of support as she checks her college acceptances, a feeling that intensifies with every rejection. But seeing Drexel’s acceptance shows Emoni that she’s capable of more than she thought—other people find her compelling and worthy of time and investment.
Themes
