Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Among the Hidden, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Propaganda, Fear, and Control
Privilege, Wealth, and Perspective
Protest and Resistance
Coming of Age, Independence, and Family
Summary
Analysis
Two weeks later, on the same day that Dad, Matthew, and Mark take all the pigs to an auction, the tax bill arrives. When the three of them get home, Dad hands the bill to Mother. Mother drops the bill when she sees it—the Government is asking for three times as much money as they usually do. She suggests it must be a mistake. But Dad says he spoke to their neighbors at the auction, and the fancy houses next door are making everyone’s taxes go up. Their land is worth more now.
Raising the taxes on Luke’s family is another way the Government asserts its power. Mother seems to want to see the Government as fair and reasonable (she seems to believe they wouldn’t really ask so much of them when it’s obvious the family can’t pay). But Dad implies that the Government doesn’t actually care about people with less money, like them.
Themes
Luke asks if this is a good thing. He’s now been watching the houses go up for weeks, and he’s fallen a bit in love with them. Dad says it’s not good unless they sell. Matthew remarks that the tax bill is more than they got for the hogs today. Quietly, Mother says she just got her work permit for the factory, and maybe they’d give her an advance on her first paycheck. Luke wants to protest—Mother is the only one who talks to him during the day, and he’ll be all alone if she gets a job. But he knows that’d be selfish, so he stays quiet.
Understanding the tax bill is difficult for Luke, since it seems like it should be a good thing that their land is more valuable—and because Luke is forming an attachment to the new houses. This reflects his inexperience, which is certainly related to his not being able to leave his bedroom and gain any experience. Finally, Luke discovers what his dad and brothers were thinking when they stared at Mother the other day: she’s getting a job. He maturely swallows his protest, as this is the only way he knows to help his family.
Themes
