Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Eleanor and Park, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Adolescence and Shame
Love and Intimacy
Poverty and Class
Family and Abuse
Summary
Analysis
The next morning, while Eleanor is doing her hair for school, Sabrina comes into the bedroom. Eleanor tells her mother that she doesn’t want to talk about what happened last night. Sabrina tells Eleanor that she’s too young for a boyfriend—Eleanor says that things between her and Park aren’t “like that,” and her mother leaves the room. Eleanor fights back tears as she realizes that perhaps Park actually doesn’t like her “like that.”
Eleanor lies desperately to her mother in an attempt to throw Sabrina off the train of what’s really going on in her life—but as Eleanor verbalizes the fact that Park doesn’t like her in a romantic way, she realizes that her own attempt at a lie might actually be the truth. Eleanor realizes she’s been getting her hopes up about a relationship with Park—and that for so many reasons, it might be out of reach.
Themes
On the bus, Eleanor sits down next to Park, who immediately apologizes for getting her in trouble the night before. Eleanor looks at Park, unable to stop thinking about how “beautiful” his lips are. Park asks if the man at the door was Eleanor’s father—she replies that Richie is her “mother’s husband.” Park asks Eleanor more about her home life, but Eleanor pushes his questions away, desperate to keep Park separate from Richie’s stronghold in her mind. Park asks Eleanor if she wants to borrow the comic to reread it, and she says she does. Park idly rubs the edge of one of Eleanor’s scarves, and Eleanor watches him, feeling her face go “soft and gummy.” Park takes Eleanor’s hand in his, and Eleanor feels herself “disintegrate.”
Eleanor’s fears are put to rest when Park takes her hand in his on the bus. She realizes that all the things she’s been feeling for him are reciprocated after all—and that perhaps the only thing more terrifying than Park not returning her feelings is his ability to return them in kind.
Themes
The narrative switches to Park’s point of view. As soon as he takes Eleanor’s hand, he feels a flash of emotion overcome him. He has held other girls’ hands before, but has never felt anything like what he’s feeling now. He feels that in holding Eleanor’s hand, he has “recognized her.” Meanwhile, Eleanor sits very still as Park rubs his thumb across her palm. She feels that Park has “paralyzed her.”
With every step Eleanor and Park take forward in their relationship, they find themselves reaching new heights of intimacy and learning more about each other. Rowell’s whole thesis that true intimacy is knowing and accepting another person is put on display in moments like this.
Themes
When the bus pulls to a stop, Park and Eleanor let go of one another’s hands. He wonders if anyone around them can see the “Over-the-top bliss” on both their faces. After getting off the bus, Park walks Eleanor all the way to her locker. Eleanor won’t make eye contact with him, and Park shyly asks her if they’ll see each other in English. Eleanor simply nods and walks away.
Eleanor and Park are surprisingly shy with one another after their great moment of connection—Eleanor especially. With every step they take forward, they are each embarking on something new—and perhaps feel a little out of their depths.
Themes
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The narrative switches to Eleanor’s point of view. All morning, she can’t stop thinking about holding hands with Park—she had no idea her hand had so many nerve endings. She keeps feeling like she might faint.
Eleanor is just as lovestruck as Park, and as the day goes by, she experiences an intense physical reaction to her feelings.
Themes
The narrative switches to Park’s point of view. Eleanor doesn’t look at Park in English or history class, and after school, she isn’t at her locker. He worries that he has done something wrong in holding her hand—but when he gets on the bus, she is already sitting in their seat. Park sits down demurely—and is shocked when Eleanor reaches for his hand and holds it tight.
Park begins second-guessing himself as he realizes how shell-shocked Eleanor is by his having grabbed her hand. As soon as she returns his affection, however, Park realizes that he and Eleanor are indeed embarking on a new chapter in their relationship.
Themes
