Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in On Beauty, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Nature of Beauty
Politics in Academia
Race and Identity
The Value of Family
Summary
Analysis
Jerome comes back to Wellington for his spring break, which really pleases Kiki. At one point, Kiki takes Jerome aside and says she’s worried about how Levi has been spending so much time with the Haitian street hawkers lately, getting involved in Haitian political causes even though Levi himself has no connection to Haiti. Jerome doesn’t see Levi’s behavior as a problem, but he agrees to spend some more time with Levi while he’s home.
While Levi seems to be the Belsey child who is most passionate about his interests, his politics also remain motivated by the personal, with the protests about Haitian politics also being an important way for Levi to socialize.
Themes
Kiki suggests that Jerome should take Murdoch on a walk to the square where Levi is meeting his Haitian friends, and Jerome agrees. Jerome finds Levi in the square as expected, and Levi calls out to Jerome, introducing him to Chouchou and the others. Levi tries to get Jerome to come to the Bus Stop that evening for a performance that he promises will be powerful, but Jerome is skeptical.
The novel begins with Jerome trying to get away from his family by joining the Kippses, and even now, Jerome still displays some hesitation about getting too deeply involved in his family. Despite Jerome’s claims to want a closer family, he resists actually taking this opportunity to get to know Levi and his interests better.
Themes
Levi looks enough like a student that he can walk freely around Wellington without carrying an ID. As he’s walking, he happens to see Monty’s office door, although Monty is away. Levi goes inside to look at the office and is surprised when Carl greets him. Levi asks Carl about a Haitian music group he’s heard of recently, but Carl admits he’s not an expert on that genre.
This passage once again explores Levi’s complicated identity. While he may look strange to Howard when he wears hoodies and skullcaps, Levi is still privileged enough to be able to pass as a student on a college campus. Meanwhile, someone like Chouchou can only be on campus as a worker.
Themes
It takes Carl’s co-worker Elisha a while to find the album Levi wants, so he stays to talk with Carl. As they’re talking, Carl gets a notification that he’s received a new email. He says it’s from Victoria and that she sends him all sorts of things by email, including nude pictures. But Victoria and Carl’s interest in her doesn’t impress Levi. Just as Carl is downloading a photo, Elisha walks in, and Carl quickly switches off his screen before she can see.
Carl’s bragging about Victoria’s nude pictures deflates Levi’s grand ideas about Carl being some sort of poetic figure from the streets. This passage also suggests that Howard’s experience of receiving photos from Victoria isn’t unique and perhaps for Victoria what’s most important is how sharing nude photos allows her to oppose the conservative values her father and brother hold.
Themes
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When Levi returns to Kiki, she can tell that he’s been crying. She tells him to go have fun at the Bus Stop that night. Jerome offers to give both Levi and Zora a ride to the Bus Stop. But after dropping Levi off, Jerome and Zora drive to a fraternity party.
Levi tends to cry at moments when he has to confront new information that challenges his beliefs—in this case, he is crying over his disillusionment about Carl.
Themes
At the party, Jerome is dismayed to find out that Victoria is there. Zora says he can just take a taxi back, but Jerome agrees to stay. The two stand awkwardly at the party for a while until Jerome suddenly notices Carl. Zora calls out to him. Carl thanks Zora for all the activism she’s done on his behalf before telling her and Jerome that he’ll see them later.
This passage shows once again how, despite how distant the Belseys can be from one another, there are still moments where they get along. In this passage about the party, Jerome and Zora show that they have a strong bond, even if they don’t always express it openly.
Themes
Jerome and Zora stay at the party for a while as it continues to grow. They get separated, and when Zora decides it’s time to leave, she realizes that Jerome is too drunk to drive but it’s too late to get a taxi. Jerome tells Zora that he has news: apparently, Carl is in the coat room hooking up with Victoria.
Jerome’s earlier phone calls from Brown seemed to suggest that he might be having a hard time in school. The fact that he gets drunk at the party to avoid thinking about his problems recalls what Howard did after Carlene’s funeral.
Themes
Feeling like something else is controlling her body, Zora goes down to the coat room, finds Carl on top of Victoria, and pulls him away. Zora gets angry at Carl for hooking up with Victoria even after Zora wrote a big editorial defending his place as a discretionary student at Wellington. Carl is confused and doesn’t understand what the article has to do with anything.
Zora feels possessive of Carl even though the two of them barely have any sort of relationship. She seems to have internalized part of the mindset of Claire, who wanted to claim the talented Carl for her poetry class as a way to prove her own continued relevance.
Themes
Carl accuses Zora of getting possessive about him without having a good reason. Zora starts to cry and talks about how Victoria is worthless. Carl continues to reject Zora, and so she goes back to Jerome. Jerome gets involved and tells Carl to leave Zora alone. Victoria sees Jerome and asks what’s going on. Carl accuses Zora of being jealous of Victoria. Everyone begins to argue.
Zora knows that Carl has a point, so she resorts instead to lashing out against Victoria. In fact, Zora’s dislike of Victoria seems to be motivated by jealousy—not only does Victoria attract the handsome Carl, but she also seems to be a favorite student of Howard’s while Zora continually struggles to meet her father’s expectations.
Themes
Eventually the subject of Howard comes up. Zora says she knows her dad is flawed but feels Carl has no right to criticize him. Zora says that at least men like Howard are grown-up intellectuals. Carl implies that he knows Howard has had sex with Victoria. He also says he’s heard Monty was having sex with Chantelle and now wants her out of his class to get rid of the evidence.
Zora’s defense of her father shows how ignorant she is of her father’s true nature, since Howard’s affair with Victoria indicates that he might not be such a mature intellectual after all. Once again, someone with an outside perspective can more easily see the truth, and it’s Carl who points out that Howard is a hypocrite, just like Monty.
Themes
Carl eventually gives up and just starts crying. He says Zora always wants to feel superior to people. Zora takes this as a sign that she’s won the argument, but when she gets back to Jerome, she finds that he’s crying too.
Although Carl won the argument, he nevertheless dislikes how his confrontation with Zora revealed that perhaps he doesn’t fit into the campus setting as well as he thought. This becomes clear when Zora, one of his biggest defenders on campus, turns on him.
Themes
