Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Dear Martin, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Privilege, Entitlement, and Implicit Bias
Appearances and Assumptions
Support, Acceptance, and Belonging
Opportunity and Upward Mobility
The Media and Public Discourse
Summary
Analysis
It’s Christmas day, and Justyce has come to the cemetery to visit Manny’s grave. As he approaches, he sees that Jared has done the same thing. The two boys greet each other and wish one another merry Christmas. “I still miss him so much, dude,” Jared says after a moment, tears filling his eyes. He starts to talk about how he feels, but then apologizes, guessing aloud that Justyce doesn’t want to hear him say such things. “Nah, it’s cool,” Justyce says, starting to cry himself. “I understand man, I really do.” Jared and Justyce start reminiscing about Manny, and then Jared tells Justyce that it’s good to see him.
After all of their disagreements, Justyce and Jared come together in this moment, united by their loss of a mutual friend. In many ways, their sadness is something that transcends their differences. Rather than focusing on the things that have always driven them apart, they’re able to relate to one another and—in that way—accept each other.
Themes
Jared goes to Yale, too, but he hardly sees Justyce, who asks if he’s chosen a major. Jared tells him that he has decided to go into “civil rights law instead of business.” This surprises Justyce, but Jared continues, saying, “Yeah. My dad just about shit himself when I told him. Anyway, I took an intro to African American Studies course, and it really blew me away, dude. I’m thinking about minoring in it.” The boys continue to talk, and Jared asks about SJ. Justyce explains that they’re still together. The wind picks up for a moment, and “it’s like Jus can feel [Manny’s initials] on his watchband pressing into the skin of his once-swollen wrist.” Turning to Jared, he says they should hang out at Yale, suggesting that they visit SJ in New York sometime. “I’d really like that, Justyce,” Jared replies. “Me too, Jared,” says Justyce. “Me too.”
In this scene, Justyce learns that Jared has changed, since he’s now interested in thinking about civil rights—a topic he would have been utterly uninterested in just one year ago, when he still believed that racial inequality no longer existed in the United States. As the two boys realize that they have something in common, Justyce senses their mutual friend’s presence, suddenly feeling as if it’s not impossible after all to find common ground with people who come from completely different backgrounds.
Themes
