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114. Stuck
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
Angelica screams into the phone that she got into Pratt and is coming over to celebrate. But when there’s a knock on the door later, it’s not Angelica. It’s Tyrone, and he asks to speak to Emoni. Emoni says she doesn’t have Babygirl ready for him yet, and she has things to talk about too. Emoni says she got into college and she’s dating. Tyrone says he doesn’t like it, but Emoni says she’s not going to stop living her life just to keep people happy. That’s not fair to Emma. Shaking his head, Tyrone says going to Spain was bad for Emoni—she’s come back with “crazy ideas” and is “easily influenced,” like Mrs. Palmer always said. Emoni finds this ironic: Mrs. Palmer said the opposite when Emoni refused to let her pay for Emoni’s abortion.
Emoni’s straightforward confidence as she tells Tyrone how things are going to be differs some from how she’s handled things with him before. Now, she doesn’t let him even try to tell her she’s doing things wrong—she just inwardly rolls her eyes when he speaks so disparagingly about her trip to Spain. But really, what he’s saying is that he doesn’t like that he can’t influence Emoni anymore, and that she’s making her own decisions. Note too that telling Tyrone she got into college implies that Emoni has decided to attend—there’d be no reason to tell him otherwise.
Themes
As Tyrone fixes his expression, Emoni realizes that he’s suddenly grown up and seems comfortable in his skin. He says he’s here about Emma: he got a job and an apartment recently, and Mrs. Palmer has been bugging him about how expensive babies are and how he should be helping Emoni more. He’d like to help. Emoni is shocked that Mrs. Palmer has been advocating for her at all. But then, Tyrone says he’d like to have longer visitations with Emma: Friday night to Monday morning, and he’d like to take her on vacation with his family for a week in the summers. Emoni keeps her face stony and says she’ll think about it. But she says she’ll get Babygirl ready to go now.
Just like Emoni, Tyrone is growing up and his life is changing. As he steps into a more adult and independent lifestyle (with his own job and apartment), he feels compelled to also be more mature when it comes to his relationship with his daughter and Emoni. This is a shock for Emoni, but it also means that things might be easier for her going forward—extra money from Tyrone, and perhaps extra care for Babygirl, would help as she navigates college and a quickly growing toddler.
Themes
