Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Tell Me Three Things, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Blended Families
Intimacy and Growing Up
Wealth, Fitting In, and Bullying
Home
Friendship
Summary
Analysis
First thing in the morning, SN tells Jessie three things: he’s terrified of flying, he was vegetarian but gave up because of bacon, and he spends too much time playing video games. Jessie offers her own three things: she dislikes veggies except for Brussels sprouts, she hates mornings (she’s only up so early because Gloria makes strong coffee, and she tells SN about how she’s coming around to having a house manager), and though she’s a lefty, she trained herself to use her right hand and now regrets it. SN says he uses his right hand for everything and Jessie asks if that’s an innuendo.
The game of sharing three things gives Jessie and SN a structure through which to get to know each other. It’s easy to fall back on when there’s nothing else to say—and the reciprocal, turn-taking aspect of the game means that they’re each speaking more or less an equal amount. This helps to start their relationship on equal footing, especially since they also seem to match each other in terms of how personal or silly their three things are.
Themes
