Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Behold the Dreamers, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Sustainability of the American Dream
The Modern Immigrant Experience
Class and Interdependency
Parental Expectations vs. Personal Ambitions
Family and Belonging
Summary
Analysis
While Jende brushes his teeth, Neni mentions Betty’s cousin, who can help with get them papers if they pay him with the money she got from Cindy Edwards to pay him. She says that she and Jende should divorce so that she can marry him. Jende abruptly pulls a bath towel away from his face and tells her never to say something so foolish again. He leaves the bathroom and slams the door in her face. She sits on the toilet seat, as though she were frozen.
Neni’s idea shocks Jende, both because it is an extreme measure and because Neni is suggesting that she is willing to throw away their marriage for the prospect of remaining in a country that has already rejected her husband. It is, however, foolish to trust a stranger with this task and to give away so much money on faith alone. It’s a sign of Neni’s desperation.
Themes
