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Chapter 17
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
The superstition about bad news must apply to individuals, Deza thinks, because her family has had way more than three pieces lately. The latest is that the family won’t be taking much with them to Flint because so little belongs to them. The furniture in their rented house belongs to their landlord, including the wardrobe in which Mr. Malone and Mrs. Malone marked Deza’s and Jimmie’s growth—at least until Jimmie stopped growing. Once, Mrs. Malone says, they hoped to buy the furniture, but things got in the way of that plan.
With Mr. Malone gone, Deza must take on a much more mature and involved role in her family, and part of this entails being made aware of just how precarious their situation is. The only thing that has changed is Deza’s perspective—the family has never owned the furniture, she just never realized how poor they actually are. And the casual mention of the time when it became apparent that something was wrong with Jimmie due to his stunted growth also reminds her, pointedly, that things have been bad for a while. Only the family’s love and her parents’ determined optimism have insulated their children.
Themes
Jimmie tags along for moral support when Deza goes to say goodbye to Mrs. Needham and Clarice. Fortunately, Mrs. Needham isn’t home. Deza isn’t sure she could face her beloved teacher’s disappointment on top of her own. Less fortunately, Clarice isn’t at home either. She’s gone with her father and brothers to pursue some temporary work in Nashville for a little extra money. At Clarice’s mother’s invitation, Deza tries to write a letter saying goodbye but can’t find the words. So, Jimmie, the best brother in the whole world, draws a picture. It depicts Deza and Clarice each with a gaping hole where their hearts should be. In their hands, they each hold half a broken heart. On the bottom, Jimmie drew a circle and wrote “DEZA STEERS” where Deza’s tears have stained the paper. It isn’t the best drawing, but it captures Deza’s feelings perfectly.
Perhaps the hardest thing Deza must do is say goodbye to her best friend and the dear teacher whose love and support offered her the best chance of escaping the poverty and limitation of her childhood into a life worthy of her talents. It seems merciful that neither loved one is home. But this too quietly underlines the general precarity of Deza’s whole community. While the book doesn’t specify where Mrs. Needham has gone, Clarice, her father, and all her many brothers have left town for the summer to make some money while they can, since job opportunities and finances are so insecure at this point in the Depression. While she won’t have her friends with her in Flint, at least Deza will have her loving, loyal, and steadfast brother Jimmie—one person, at least, who sees and understands her like no one else (except maybe Clarice) can.
Themes
