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
Luke is so shocked that he almost falls off his trunk. The face isn’t there when he looks out again, so maybe he imagined it. Or maybe one of the kids came home from school. He doesn’t let himself think of what it might mean if the face belongs to a third child, but he spends the rest of the day staring at the Sports Family’s house. In the evening, he watches the two teenage sons get home. They don’t seem concerned about a thief, and Luke hasn’t seen anyone else leave the house.
Keep in mind that Luke has gone his whole life not knowing if he's the only illegal third child in the world. The world starts to look a little different to him as he considers that there might be another third kid across the way. Notice too that Luke’s attention is now fully focused on other people and not his family, something that’s perhaps unsurprising in this situation but that nevertheless indicates that Luke is growing up and starting to look outside his family for support.
Themes
Soon after, Mother knocks on the door and lets herself in. She thanks Luke for his hard work, but tells Luke he can’t keep doing housework. Luke says it’s okay, but he knows it isn’t. He asks Mother if she’d talk to Dad, but Mother insists Dad is just trying to protect him. Miserable, Luke decides that even if there is a third child living next door, it won’t matter. They’ll never see each other. Glumly, he asks Mother if he’s just supposed to sit in the attic for the rest of his life. Mother says she’d love to spend a day reading and sleeping like Luke, but she doesn’t understand. Maybe the third child in the Sports Family would understand.
Luke feels increasingly distant from his family members, since it’s clear to him that they don’t understand how demoralizing it is to sit in the attic and do nothing. Of course Mother thinks it’d be great to spend a day like Luke does; she’s working long hours and clearly wants a day to herself. But that’s not the same as being isolated all day, every day, for one’s entire life. The only person Luke thinks might understand is the third Sports Family kid—this kid presumably lives a life much like Luke’s, and to Luke, it seems likely they also resent hiding.
Themes
