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33. Santi
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
After school, Emoni tells Angelica—who’s incredulous—about how Malachi asked her out. Angelica is certain Pretty Leslie was trying to claim Malachi for herself, but Emoni isn’t convinced. They reach the front of the school, where Malachi leaves a group of boys and immediately introduces himself to Angelica. She asks what he’s doing with Emoni, and he invites her to join them for ice cream. Angelica and Emoni know exactly where to go, so they head for the train station. On the train, Malachi asks Angelica about Emoni, and Angelica tells him embarrassing stories. Finally, they get off at the boardwalk and enter a water-ice shop, which the girls insist is better than ice cream. Malachi doesn’t argue.
Malachi continues to demonstrate that he cares about who Emoni really is, which means accepting her daughter and getting to know her friends. He’s much less focused than, say, Pretty Leslie on conforming to what supposedly normal high school kids are supposed to care about, like keeping up appearances. Water-ice (also known as Italian ice) is a classic Philadelphia treat, but it’s not very popular outside the city. By introducing Malachi to a local delicacy, Emoni and Angelica help Malachi integrate into the Philly community.
Themes
Once Malachi, Angelica, and Emoni have their water-ice, they walk to the water and admire the beautiful day. After a brief exchange about the culinary arts class, Angelica warns Malachi to get Emoni home safe and then excuses herself to go meet Laura. Malachi gives Angelica his winning smile—and even Angelica falters. She taps his dimple, tells Emoni to be careful, and leaves.
Notice that in this passage, the conversation mainly centers on food—the water-ice and the culinary arts class. Malachi, Angelica, and Emoni thus continue to connect over food. When Angelica (who, recall, is attracted to girls exclusively) seems taken in by Malachi’s cuteness and charm, it suggests that Emoni is perhaps working harder than she’s letting on to resist Malachi.
Themes
The mood grows more serious and Emoni asks why Malachi ignored Pretty Leslie earlier. He explains that he knows what it’s like to have secrets and didn’t like how Pretty Leslie tried to use Emoni’s family situation to “bag some dude.” He also says he’d like to become friends. Emoni doesn’t ask about Malachi’s secret—if he wanted to tell her, he would. Then, she says she needs to get home to Babygirl. She doesn’t say that she, too, wants to be friends.
Here, Malachi essentially says that he finds Pretty Leslie’s earlier behavior catty and unattractive. He’s far more interested in being honest and open, which he does here by saying outright that he’d like to be friends. This is difficult for Emoni, though, as she’s not used to this kind of openness. So, she’s unable to say that she also wants to be Malachi’s friend.
Themes
