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31. Living Large & Lavish
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 been a week since the pudding debacle. Today, Chef Ayden announces they’ll be working with saffron and asks them to pair up so there’s enough to go around. Pretty Leslie squeezes in next to Malachi, who shrugs at Emoni. Emoni is the odd one out, so Chef asks if she’ll work on her own or join a “threesome.” Ignoring the snickers, she says she’ll work alone. It takes almost the entire class to make paella. Then, Chef makes an announcement: they’ll be going to Sevilla, Spain in March, and the administration just finalized the budget. Each student will need to raise $800 by December 15, though the class will hold fundraisers too. Emoni’s heart hurts. That’s way too much money. The trip to Spain would change Emoni’s life, but Emoni crushes her hope.
Though Emoni is also trying to ignore her classmates’ inappropriate giggles, her independent nature shines through as she insists she’ll work alone. And it continues to guide her as she writes off the trip to Spain altogether. As far as she’s concerned, it’s entirely impossible for her to singlehandedly raise $800 in a few months. While that might be true, focusing on that ignores the fact that Emoni is part of a team of kids who will all work together to come up with the money and bring individual costs down. Emoni’s independence, at this point, is hurting Emoni and making her miserable.
Themes
