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96. The Chase
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
Malachi races after the boy, and Emoni struggles to follow them both. Finally, she catches up when Malachi snatches the boy’s jacket. She tells Malachi it’s okay, but he angrily tells her to ask the boy why he stole. In careful Spanish, Emoni asks. The boy says he wouldn’t have stolen had he known Emoni and Malachi were Black—Black people run fast. Almost laughing, Emoni says that’s not true, and certainly not all “of you” steal. The boy explains that he and his sister beg because they’re cute and hungry. Emoni and Malachi argue in English: she wants to let the boy go, but Malachi wants to see where he lives. The boy points to an alley, where a tiny face peeks out. Emoni gives the boy a few euros, and he runs away.
The boy is coded as Roma. In Europe, Roma people have often suffered the same kind of discrimination as nonwhite people in the U.S. do, such as assumptions that they’re criminal and amoral. It’s impossible to tell whether Emoni gets through to the boy, but she encourages him to see that making assumptions about an entire group of people isn’t the best way to go through life—that will deprive him of connections he could otherwise make.
Themes
Emoni observes that the boy and girl are so young: the girl is only a bit older than Babygirl. She tries to joke Malachi out of his silence, but he says that he doesn’t think it’s true that the hardest thing to be is a parent. He’s pretty sure it’s harder to be an older brother and not be able to help get your sibling what they need. Emoni tries to lead him to go get ice cream, but he sadly says he doesn’t want it anymore. She takes his face in her hands and he pulls her close.
Malachi was angry that the boy tried to steal Emoni’s purse, but now, he seems more upset that he and the boy actually have a lot in common—they’re both struggling with how difficult it is to be a child trying to help one’s sibling. Kids, both Malachi and the boy find, have way fewer resources to help loved ones in need, being kids in need of care themselves.
Themes
