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31. The Pizza Queen of Wattle Beach
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Bridge to Wiseman’s Cove, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Love and Family
Coming of Age
Grief and Redemption
The Limits of Loyalty
Body Image
Summary
Analysis
After Nathan leaves, Maddie collapses into Justine’s arms. As Justine takes the bracelet from Maddie’s wrist, Maddie thanks her and Carl for being her “bodyguards.” Once again, Carl’s actions have impressed everyone. No one has ever stood up to Nathan that way.
Carl passes this last test with flying colors, standing up for himself and for Maddie at the same time. Notably, she’s grateful for his support and intervention—unlike his family members, who take Carl’s loyalty for granted.
Active
Themes
Justine puts on a movie as teenagers jostle for places on the couches. Justine steers Carl toward the back of the room to a couch “decent” enough for “big people” like themselves—a couch she’s saved for them by hiding its cushions. After retrieving these, she settles down next to Carl, taking his hand, which she holds for the duration of the movie.
Once again, the book plays Justine’s weight for laughs. Although the book seems to intend for this moment to show how little Justine cares about what people might think of her appearance, other moments (like her reticence about letting people see her in a bathing suit) suggest she does care. Moreover, the way the book emphasizes Carl’s and Justine’s bodies at moments it also highlights their budding romance could be seen as suggesting that they’re a good romantic pair because they’re both overweight.
Active
Themes
After the movie, the party breaks up, although Ted is among the last to leave. He still wants to hang out with Carl. Maddie asks Justine for food, saying she was too nervous to eat earlier. Justine, Maddie, and Carl head toward the messy kitchen, where Justine throws another pizza together. The three friends hungrily devour it, tussling over the last slice. Carl tries to stake a claim by picking Maddie up and depositing her on a nearby couch, only to turn and find Justine devouring the final bites.
Active
Themes
Justine, Maddie, and Carl clean up the kitchen together, then retreat to the couches to hang out. Maddie tells Carl that the only reason Joy didn’t invite him to live at the Cove, too, was because she worried that he and Maddie wouldn’t get along. It turns out that they do, but they only figured this out as she’s leaving. Finally, Carl regretfully begins to say goodbye—he has to be at work early and it’s already well past midnight. He’s reluctant to go. But eventually Maddie shoos him out the door, sending Justine after him to walk him home.
Active
Themes
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