Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Becoming, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Optimism, Growth, and Fulfillment
Community, Investment, and Hard Work
Race, Gender, and Politics
Marriage, Parenthood, and Work
Power, Privilege, and Responsibility
Summary
Analysis
One Saturday evening at the end of May, Barack takes Michelle on a date to New York City. They go to a restaurant, trying to talk about things other than work. So much of Barack’s job is grueling—General Motors filing for bankruptcy, North Korea conducting a nuclear test, and Barack flying off to Egypt to deliver a major address—that it’s better not to talk about it. They both crave “glimpses of regular life.”
While the previous chapter focused on the family’s new, luxurious lifestyle, in this chapter Michelle shows the flipside of that life. The power that they have gained also comes with a great deal of responsibility, as they sacrifice some of their freedom for the sake of the country and take on the weight of the nation’s greatest trials.
Themes
That evening in New York, Michelle and Barack eat, drink, and talk, reveling in the fact that they are able to escape for a bit. The White House sometimes feels like a form of confinement for Michelle. At dinner, they talk about their daughters, Michelle’s mom, and their new dog Bo. After dinner, they attend a show, and when they return, they face a harsh backlash of criticism calling their date “extravagant and costly to taxpayers.”
Michelle expands on some of the difficulties of their new lifestyle. Despite its perks, their movement is strictly limited and personal aspects of their lives, like their date nights, are viewed in the context of how they affect average Americans—a type of scrutiny and duty that very few other Americans face.
Themes
In late June, the garden has grown, and Michelle and the elementary students have their first harvest—pea pods and lettuce and garden berries. The garden is wholesome, but Michelle also understands that she is being watched by many women who are critical of the fact that Michelle has buried her education and management experience to take on a more traditional role.
Michelle’s, Sam’s, and the students’ optimism pays off: they are able to grow food in the garden. This not only gives Michelle a sense of accomplishment and her own legacy in the White House, but it also leads her to her first fulfilling initiative: Let’s Move!
Themes
Michelle understands, however, that no matter what she chooses to do, she will disappoint someone. When Michelle uses the phrase “mom in chief” in the press to describe herself, some Americans embrace it, knowing the amount of work it takes to raise children. But some are “vaguely appalled” and believe it to be anti-feminist.
Michelle recognizes that, to some, she is compromising her education too much and becoming too much of a homemaker. Yet Michelle understands her unique position: had she used her education to become more involved in politics, she would also be criticized (as Hillary Clinton was). Thus, she has to make a compromise to a certain degree with the American people.
Themes
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In addition to growing the garden, Michelle quietly puts together a larger plan to take on the issue of child obesity. Over the previous three decades, the rates of childhood obesity have tripled. The problem has various sources, from the high price of healthy fruit to the cuts in funding for sports programs. Meanwhile, portion sizes are increasing. Michelle feels it is the right time to push for change.
Despite the fact that many people view the garden as a light endeavor, Michelle uses it as a jumping off point for her first big initiative. Thus, she is able to make a compromise in this way as well: retaining some of the more domestic aspects of the First Lady role in keeping up the garden, while also pushing for an issue that she cares about and working towards concrete goals to reduce child obesity.
Themes
Over the summer of 2009, Michelle takes Sasha and Malia on trips together around their new city, rather than putting them in day camps. She knows that this is somewhat irksome to the Secret Service and the other people enjoying the various locations and activities, but she wants her daughters to be able to experience the world in the same way other kids do.
Although Michelle knows that her daughters are growing up in relative privilege, she wants them to be able to experience the world as relatively normal kids to ensure they can continue to be grounded.
Themes
At a certain point, people start paying attention to and opining on Michelle’s fashion choices—the “brave” choice of white for her inaugural gown, or her lack of dignity for getting off Air Force One (in 106 degree heat) in a pair of shorts. It gets to the point where sometimes people focus on that aspect of her life more than they focus on what she has to say.
The fact that people focus on Michelle’s clothes more than her intellect or her initiatives speaks to society’s (and the media’s) double standard concerning gender, as women are judged based on their clothes far more than men are.
Themes
Michelle tries to use the power inside this situation, hoping that if she appears in fashion magazine profiles, people might also read what she has to say about children’s health or supporting military spouses. She also recognizes the importance of appearing on a magazine cover as a woman of color, and of supporting less well-known designers. She tries to mix up her choices, knowing that she will be criticized no matter what she wears—either for being too “showy and high end” or “too casual.”
Rather than trying to fight how the public perceives her, however, Michelle tries to use this focus to her advantage—in providing opportunities to designers who are less well-known, or in being an important role model for young women of color, who rarely see powerful women who look like them on the front of magazines.
Themes
Michelle depends heavily on Meredith Koop, who works with Michelle as a personal aide and wardrobe stylist, as well as Johnny Wright (her hairdresser) and Carl Ray (her makeup artist). They work with her to craft a look every day, knowing that any slipup will lead to “a flurry of ridicule and nasty comments.” Michelle also reports that every woman in public life has some version of these three people supporting them, “a built-in fee for our societal double standard.”
Again, Michelle touches on the implicit sexism within political institutions and in society more generally. All women in the public eye (politicians, celebrities, CEOs) have to spend extra money and time on fashionable outfits, makeup, and hair, and in paying the people that help create those looks.
Themes
Barack’s team is also keen on maintaining appearances—particularly when the economy is in such rough shape, they guard against any image coming out of the White House that might be seen as “frivolous or light.” Michelle pushes back on this when it comes to the kids, hosting a Halloween party despite pushback from David Axelrod (now a senior advisor) and Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. She is delighted to hand out treats to more than two thousand local kids, knowing the optics are “just right.”
Michelle understands the gravity of the country’s economic situation, but she also recognizes the value of positive energy, especially when coming from kids. And, in making their home more accessible to local kids, she is also working to share some of the privilege of the White House with others.
Themes
The garden continues to grow through every season, “a symbol of diligence and faith.” Michelle enjoys the fruits of her labor and also donates a portion of every harvest to a local nonprofit serving the homeless. Michelle also gets ready to take on the issues of children’s health, attempting to provide better information to parents, create healthier schools, improve access to nutritious food, and find more ways for young people to be active.
Through the garden, Michelle is not only growing food, but growing her own contribution to issues that she cares about. This is evident in her use of the garden to help feed the homeless, but also in using it to spark the conversation on children’s health, a topic she’s been passionate about since Malia’s pediatrician alerted her to it.
Themes
Michelle announces her new initiative, Let’s Move! Her goal is to speak to parents and kids directly: she hula-hoops on the South Lawn to show that exercise can be fun, and she does interviews with health magazines. Barack signs a memorandum to create a federal task force on childhood obesity.
Michelle understands that she will be criticized for being too involved in making policy. Thus, she uses the power of her celebrity instead, bringing the issue to the fore with media appearances instead.
Themes
Michelle has also done a lot of prep work with outside organizations for the initiative. Three major corporate suppliers of school lunches announce that they will cut the amount of salt, sugar, and fat in their meals. The American Beverage Association promises to improve the clarity of its ingredient labels. They persuade Disney, NBC, and Warner Bros. to air PSAs encouraging kids to make healthy lifestyle choices. She aims to redesign the aging food pyramid to be more accessible and current. Michelle benefits from her platform, but she realizes now how it can be “marshaled in service of real goals.”
Additionally, even though Michelle leaves the policy making to Barack, she also leverages her power in a quieter way. Behind the scenes, she has quietly garnered commitments from major companies in order to get tangible results on an issue that she is passionate about. This, to her, is how she can find fulfillment within the often-confining and often-criticized role she plays for the nation.
Themes
