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110. Just Fine
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
On Monday morning, Ms. Fuentes asks how Spain was and if Emoni checked her college admissions. Hoping that Ms. Fuentes can’t tell she’s been crying, Emoni says she got into Drexel. Noticing Emoni’s lack of excitement, Ms. Fuentes asks what’s wrong. Emoni lies that she’s just tired, and she ignores Malachi’s stares all of Advisory—they talked on the phone last night, and Emoni told him all about her fears and cried about ’Buela. But at lunch, Emoni can’t hide that she’s upset. Angelica demands to know what’s wrong when everything in Emoni’s life seems to be going well, so Emoni flicks applesauce at her. As they laugh, things feel momentarily okay.
On the brink of so much changing so fast, Emoni reverts to her earlier, independent self. She’s confided in Malachi about her fears, but she’s not willing to be vulnerable at school—with anyone. This reminds readers how huge of a change Emoni faces as she looks at college and at suddenly becoming independent from ’Buela. Still, Angelica reminds Emoni that some things won’t change, such as their supportive friendship.
Themes
