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Chapter 13
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Mighty Miss Malone, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Hope
Talent and Hard Work
Family
The Black Experience in America
The Great Depression
Summary
Analysis
After a while, Deza and Jimmie start taking turns sitting with Mr. Malone. One day, when Deza sticks her head into her parents’ room to say goodbye before going to the library with Clarice, she hears her father describing the accident in an urgent whisper. She doesn’t really want to hear it, but she can’t tear herself away, either.
In an earlier chapter, Deza chose honesty with Mrs. Malone about Mrs. Needham’s gift because she values the truth, even if the truth can sometimes involve risk and pain (in that case, potentially being told to return all the nice things she got). It’s hard, but she chooses honesty here, too, showing her own resilience and strength.
Themes
According to Mr. Malone, the fishing trip started off well enough. The men were aware of a drifting fog bank but thought they still had time to outrun it. They were wrong, and the fog soon overtook them. At some point, they had lost their anchor without realizing it, so they drifted into a shipping lane where the wake of a passing freighter capsized them. When he was thrown overboard, Mr. Malone smashed his mouth on the side. Even though he was in shock, he managed to use the anchor rope to tie himself to the bottom of the upturned boat, on which he drifted until a passing boat rescued him and took him to a hospital in Chicago.
Mr. Malone’s story illustrates the Burns quote Mrs. Needham described to Deza in an earlier chapter—despite their best-laid plans, bad things still happened to the fishermen. But despite the dire situation and his grievous injuries, Mr. Malone managed to cling to the boat. In much the same way, the book suggests that sometimes it’s necessary to cling to hope—no matter how dim it might be—in order to survive present difficulties and achieve a brighter future.
Themes
Mr. Malone tells the story, but it’s not a real Mr. Malone story, Deza thinks. There’s no alliteration. And there are no jokes. Deza’s father always tells jokes, even about sad things—especially about sad things. In fact, he maintains that there’s a thin line between comedy and tragedy. Once, he challenged Deza and Jimmie to think of a joke that didn’t have some pain hidden in it somewhere. They haven’t yet.
Readers should listen to Deza’s concerns here. She thinks that Mr. Malone is leaving something out of the story, although she doesn’t exactly know what it is. The only thing she can think of is that there are no jokes, and while the story is no laughing matter, it’s unlike Mr. Malone to tell a story so utterly devoid of humor, no matter how terrible. This suggests that Mr. Malone is covering something up.
Themes
The last thing Deza hears—much to her exasperation—as she leaves her parents’ bedroom is Mr. Malone telling Jimmie that the two things keeping him going through his ordeal were the thought of making it home to his family and his excitement over the Louis-Schmeling fight.
Although Deza doesn’t like it that the fight kept Mr. Malone going, his comment illustrates the book’s ideas about the power of hope. Having things to look forward to kept Mr. Malone going when he might have otherwise died.
Themes
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