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Chapter 40
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in My Friends, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Friendship
The Value of Art
Loss and Grief
Substance Abuse
Summary
Analysis
Twenty-five years ago, after rescuing the injured bird, Joar learns that Joar’s mom does not actually know how to save it. He still has faith in her, based on how she keeps plants alive. They decide to give it water. Despite her doubts, Joar’s mom is indeed good at making sure the bird drinks the water. People gossip about how immature Joar’s mom seems, but he wishes they could see how capable she is.
Because of how afraid he is of his old man, Joar looks up to his mom. He thinks so highly of her that he can’t accept the idea that she might not be able to nurse the bird back to health. The way his mom gives the bird water parallels her skill at keeping plants alive, since water is vital to them too.
Active
Themes
Joar’s mom always treated him as older than he was, sneaking him into R-rated movies and teaching him how to drive at 12—even though she herself doesn’t have a license. As Joar and his mom are trying to save the life of the bird, all of a sudden Joar’s old man comes back and surprises them, having already drunk several beers. When Joar’s old man sees the bird and how happy it makes Joar’s mom, Joar knows things won’t end well.
Active
Themes
