The Sun is Also a Star

The Sun is Also a Star

by

Nicola Yoon

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The Sun is Also a Star: Chapter 35 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Natasha admits to the reader that Daniel was smart to use science against her, and she observes that he's too optimistic, earnest, and good at making her laugh. He asks their first question: if and how she'd like to be famous. Natasha asks Daniel to go first, and he says he'd be a famous "poet in chief." His job would be to offer wise and poetic counsel to world leaders. Natasha is skeptical, especially when Daniel insists that poetry can save lives.
Remember that Natasha said outright that Nirvana's Nevermind has been her lifeline through the deportation struggle—whether she wants to admit it or not, poetry in the form of song lyrics is absolutely getting her through this trying time.
Themes
Immigration and the American Dream Theme Icon
Passion vs. Reason Theme Icon
Isolation vs. Connection Theme Icon
Natasha says that she'd be a benevolent dictator. She recognizes she won't be able to please all her subjects, so she suggests that Daniel could comfort the losers with poetry. Natasha checks her phone and thinks of all the other multiverses out there, and how those might've played out. Daniel interrupts her reverie to ask her secret hunch about how she'll die. Natasha says that black women in the US are most likely to die of heart disease at age 78.
The fact that Natasha allows Daniel a place in her dream job world suggests that she does feel a connection with him and is even willing to rework her imagination to find a place for him. Further, being a benevolent dictator is far-fetched and somewhat silly, showing too that Natasha does have an emotional and imaginative side.
Themes
Passion vs. Reason Theme Icon
Isolation vs. Connection Theme Icon
Daniel tugs Natasha back from the curb, and she thinks it feels familiar. Daniel believes he'll die by gunshot at a gas station or liquor store, trying to do something heroic. They laugh, and Natasha turns them towards Eighth Avenue. Daniel stops to take off his jacket, which Natasha thinks seems weirdly intimate. He asks to put it in her backpack, which seems even more intimate. Natasha notices how broad his chest is and thinks that his eyes are kind of beautiful. She wonders what he wears normally and then wonders what Jamaican boys wear. She feels suddenly sad at the thought of adjusting to a new culture.
Natasha's continual feelings of familiarity add credence to the novel's insistence that destiny is real, and it continues to build up her strange sense of connection to Daniel. The fact that everything they do together feels somehow intimate also throws aside her belief that she's incapable of love, as she's clearly capable of experiencing attraction, emotion, and a sense of intimacy with someone—just not Rob.
Themes
Interconnectedness and Destiny Theme Icon
Isolation vs. Connection Theme Icon
Natasha informs Daniel that Asian American men are most likely to die of cancer. He asks if Natasha truly believes she's going to die of something boring, and she insists that dead is dead. Finally, Natasha admits that she's afraid of drowning in the deep end of a hotel pool. Daniel is floored; he doesn't see how someone born in Jamaica doesn't know how to swim. He offers to teach her and teases her about her dislike of chlorinated pools. She laughs and tries not to wish that he could actually teach her to swim.
The fear that Natasha developed as a result of coming to the US shows that even though she identifies as American, coming to the US cost her a beautiful and important part of her Jamaican identity. This develops the idea that being an immigrant, even if one is happy in their new country, isn't easy—and it often forces immigrants to make major changes to themselves.
Themes
Immigration and the American Dream Theme Icon
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