Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in What the Eyes Don’t See, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Racism and Environmental Injustice
Truth vs. Corruption
Community Values and Collective Duty
The American Dream
Family, Tradition, and Strength
Summary
Analysis
After the barbecue, Mona tucked Nina and Layla into bed, but her head was spinning with what Elin had told her. The girls begged for a story about their great-grandfather Haji, so Mona told them about Haji’s generosity and idealism. Before Haji achieved professional success as the director of Pepsi-Cola in Iraq, Mona told her daughters, he and his brothers owned a perfume factory. When the factory burned down during World War II, the factory’s employees donated their wages to help rebuild it. Their generosity moved Haji, who “believe[d] in people more than anything else.”
In this passage, the bedtime story Mona tells her children illustrates her ongoing commitment to keeping herself and her daughters rooted in their family’s values and traditional stories. Looking to Haji’s example in this moment is especially poignant. Having just received terrible and frightening news, Mona reminds herself of the power of community by telling her girls this particular story on this particular night.
Themes
Mona concluded the story by telling her girls that Haji taught her how important it was to always do the right thing, no matter how hard it would be. Mona also mentioned that she and her parents still received notes and messages from the children and grandchildren of Haji’s employees that spoke of his enduring generosity. Haji’s actions, Mona said, had left a mark on them all—even if they couldn’t see it.
This passage foreshadows the impact Mona will go on to have on her very own community. By looking to Haji’s example in this moment and reminding herself of her family’s long-held values of generosity, community, and solidarity, Mona may have subconsciously primed herself to take on the establishment and fight for the people of Flint.
Themes
