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Chapter 24
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Counting by 7s, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Independent Thinking
Bureaucracy
Grief and Survival
Chosen Family
Summary
Analysis
Dell has to answer questions about Willow. He’s worried about getting in trouble until he realizes that actually they’re questioning him because Willow has gone missing, and they need to find her. She’s not at Pattie’s salon. When Dell finally gets a chance to slip away, he goes to Mai’s high school.
Dell, for all his interest in Willow, still remains selfish in some ways and focused on self-preservation at this point in the story. Here, for instance, he answers questions in a way that prioritizes not getting himself in trouble. As is often the case for Dell, he demonstrates in this passage how sometimes people can fail to live up to their own ideals.
Active
Themes
