Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in My Beloved World, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Optimism, Determination, and Adversity
Family and Friendship
Education and Learning
Puerto Rican Identity and Culture
Morality, Justice, and Giving Back
Summary
Analysis
Aside from Nelson, Sonia’s best friend in elementary school is a boy named Gilmar. One day, Gilmar shares that his parents have decided to move to California. Sonia insists that they have to tour the neighborhood so Gilmar can say goodbye to everyone. They go first to Pops, a man who sells candy. Then, they say goodbye to a Jewish friend and his grandmother and another grandmother in the neighborhood, Mrs. Beverly, whom Sonia thinks is a hero. Sonia leads Gilmar next to Mami’s best friend, Ana, and her husband Moncho. Junior is there—he idolizes Moncho—and Moncho thankfully distracts Junior so Sonia and Gilmar can continue their tour unencumbered. They head for Blessed Sacrament to say goodbye to the nuns.
It’s telling that Sonia and Gilmar visit so many people who aren’t family, but whom Sonia and Gilmar nevertheless love like family. Ana and Moncho in particular stand out, especially given Moncho’s close relationship with Junior. This is one of the first indications in the memoir that friends can function as family members by providing care, understanding, and a sense of safety to one another. The tour as a whole introduces the reader to Sonia’s childhood world and illustrates how connected she feels to her community.
Themes
Sonia explains that that year, third grade was a “continuous state of dread.” She constantly gets in trouble even though she tries to keep to herself. For Christmas, Papi sends her to school with a gift for Sister Elizabeth, her teacher, but unbeknownst to Sonia, the gift is a metal ruler. Students beat Sonia up at recess. Mami believes that Catholic school is a good investment, even though none of Sonia’s cousins go to Catholic school. At school, Sonia must learn discipline, but she doesn’t think the way that the nuns hit kids aligns with what they teach in religion class: that God is loving and forgiving. Sonia gets into trouble because the nuns dislike working mothers, even though Mami works to send her children to Catholic school.
Even at a very young age, Sonia recognizes how unfairly her Catholic school treats her and Mami. As far as she’s concerned, they should be thrilled that Mami prizes education enough to work to send her children to a Catholic school—and yet, they resent Mami and punish Sonia for the very reason that she’s there. By keying in on her early sense of right and wrong, Sonia is able to chart her path to becoming a judge—she’s wanted, for a long time, to make the world a fairer place.
Themes
Back in the present, Gilmar and Sonia say goodbye to each other. Sonia tells the reader that she doesn’t see California herself until her second summer of law school. She thinks of Gilmar then and all the other friends she loses touch with.
Friends are extremely important to Sonia throughout her memoir, but it’s impossible for her to maintain contact with all of them—especially when she’s still a child.
Themes
