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54. The Five Senses
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Everything, Everything, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Coming of Age
Trust and Lies
Family, Abuse, and Bravery
The Value of Experience
Summary
Analysis
Olly pulls away and asks Maddy if everything is okay. She bravely says she’s running away and takes a deep breath. The air is moist and heavy, unlike anything she’s ever breathed. She feels like she swallowed a stone, so Olly tries to take her back to her house and asks if he needs to carry her. Maddy stops him, repeats that she’s running away, and asks for help—she knows nothing about the world. She asks him to take her to the roof so she can explain, and he grudgingly leads her to a ladder. On the roof, Maddy looks around and sees a small table with a lamp and crumpled papers. She wonders if he writes poetry, but he turns the lamp on, and she sees that they’re fast-food wrappers. There are tools and something covered in a tarp next to the desk.
Though Olly’s concern annoys Maddy, it’s important to note that his desire to care for her shows that he’s not just thinking about himself. Instead, he understands the importance of thinking about others’ comfort and safety, which is a mark of maturity and shows that in this sense, Olly is possibly more mature than Maddy is. Her realization that his desk is covered in fast food wrappers suggests that not everything she learns in the real world is going to be particularly delightful or enlightening.
Themes
Maddy says that she has experimental pills from Canada that will give her a few days outside. Olly curses but looks less obstinate. Maddy knows he’s too smart to fall for this lie, but he wants it to be true, so he smiles at her cautiously. When she asks, he pulls the tarp aside to reveal a large model of the universe. He says it’s called an orrery and Maddy says it’s beautiful. She begs for his help and Olly asks where she wants to go. Maddy reveals two tickets to Hawaii.
When Olly essentially chooses to ignore Maddy’s lie, it allows both of them to move forward and strengthen their relationship. In this sense, the lie doesn’t seem like such a bad thing in the long run, even though it still raises a variety of ethical questions. However, the novel overwhelmingly suggests that this possible price is outweighed by what both of them learn on their trip.
Themes
