Previous
Chapter 21
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Harbor Me, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Freedom and Justice
Stories and Memory
Unity vs. Division
Race and Identity
Summary
Analysis
In December, Esteban receives a letter from his father in the Florida detention center. It includes a poem that his father wrote, which Esteban translates into English and shares with the group. The poem, which describes the moment of his father’s arrest, reminds Haley of her own father and makes her too emotional to speak. Esteban tells the group that his father has promised to write more poems, and that he wants to read them in both Spanish and English. Amari approves, telling Esteban to read them “in all kinds of American.”
Although Esteban’s father is detained, he’s still able to make something positive of the situation by writing poetry, his lifelong dream. In documenting his arrest on paper, Esteban’s father is also doing something similar to the A-R-T-T group’s voice recording project: he’s preserving a story. Amari affirms Esteban’s language, calling both Spanish and English “American” tongues and validating their equal worth.
Active
Themes
