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Part I: Entry 1: Ms. Gruwell
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Freedom Writers Diary, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Race, Ethnicity, and Tolerance
Education and Healing
Family and Home
Violence, War, and Death
Summary
Analysis
In this diary, the student wonders on the first day of school how Ms. Gruwell could have been chosen to teach this class. S/he doubts that this white, upper-class woman will ever succeed in teaching this difficult group of students, in whom no one believes. Despite Ms. Gruwell’s initially open and warm attitude, the student concludes that she will ultimately give up on them, just like everybody else. S/he notes that the class seems particularly undisciplined, and that many of the students come to school with guns in their pants.
The student’s belief that Ms. Gruwell’s motivation will soon die out reveals a deep distrust in adults’ care and commitment, which seems to be the result of past disappointment. Her/his sharp awareness of the teacher’s race and economic status, as well as the violent attitudes with which some students come to class, highlights her/his immersion in a world of racial division and lethal violence.
Active
Themes
When s/he notices a white student in the class, s/he sees that he seems completely lost, hoping that he has been assigned the wrong schedule. S/he notes that, for once in his life, this white student is going to have to learn what it means to be the minority. Anticipating boredom and noting that even s/he wants to leave this classroom, s/he sardonically concludes that Ms. Gruwell will last only a month in this class.
Active
Themes
