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
That afternoon, Park tells Eleanor not to come over—he is sure that he’s going to be grounded. He goes home and washes the makeup off his face, then confronts his mother to ask if he’s going to be punished. She asks him how his day was, and he says it was fine—most people who noticed his makeup said he looked cool. Mindy asks Park if he is trying to look like a girl, but Park retorts that he’s trying to look more like himself.
Park feels that there are going to be consequences for being his true self, but he is prepared to face them down. This moment shows that he has a new allegiance to discovering who he truly is, and not hiding it from anyone for any reason.
Themes
That night at dinner, Jamie will barely look at Park—though he asks where Eleanor is. When Park asks his father if he’s grounded, Jamie says he isn’t. Park asks if his dad is planning on talking to him about what happened earlier that morning, but Jamie coldly says he “can’t think of a single thing” he wants to say to Park.
Park’s father is less than accepting of Park’s experimental new look—and though Park’s confidence is growing lately, he still clearly has concerns about securing his father’s approval.
Themes
