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13. Farewells
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
When they first found out that Emoni was pregnant, Emoni and Tyrone tried to make a “non-relationship” work. But Tyrone didn’t want anything serious, and his parents insisted that a 14-year-old who got pregnant was probably having sex with lots of people. Even now, Emoni isn’t sure she can forgive Tyrone for not defending her to his parents. To be fair, Tyrone is a good dad—but he also gets to run away and avoid responsibility. When Emoni was pregnant, he accused her of being emotional and continued to see other girls. He also convinced her that it wasn’t a big deal to have sex, though Emoni didn’t feel good about it. Tyrone is a great dad and a terrible boyfriend. Emoni once read that the best thing a dad can do for his kid is love the kid’s mother, but she’d rather Tyrone leave her alone.
Ironically, Tyrone’s parents insisted on portraying Emoni as a hypersexual villain while ignoring their own son’s role in the ensuing pregnancy. This and Tyrone’s lack of support made things more difficult for Emoni, as she didn’t just have to deal with being pregnant at 14. She also had to deal with Tyrone’s lack of support, his choice to pressure her and invalidate her concerns, and his parents’ antagonism. All of this makes Emoni feel like Tyrone isn’t on her side. He’s never been there for her when she needed him, even if he does show up and do the bare minimum for his daughter.
Themes
