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Chapter 28
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
Deza slips through the door into a dimly lit and smoke-filled room. She is nervous, but she remembers Jimmie’s advice for calming down: take three deep breaths and pretend that you’re looking at things from far away, through a telescope. One side of the room is a stage. The other side has about 10 tables occupied by suited men and scantily dressed women. She finds an out-of-sight place where she waits until a man in a blue suit, wide-brimmed hat, and two-toned shoes—Jimmie!—takes the stage. The crowd goes wild.
Even when they’re physically separated, Deza relies on her family. In this case, she recalls advice from Jimmie to calm down. The speakeasy provides yet another reminder that, as hard as life is for the Malones, the effects of the Great Depression were not uniform across society. Some people suffered terribly; others went on with their lives basically unaffected. When Jimmie takes the stage, it takes a minute for Deza to recognize him, because he has grown up so much in the previous months.
Themes
Deza wants Jimmie to notice her, so she starts inching toward the stage. The audience is too rapt to notice her, but the nightclub’s bouncer sees and confronts her. She tries to defend herself by punching him in the gut, but he’s much bigger and stronger than her. He picks her up and she screams, “Jimmie!” Jimmie stops singing. He jumps off the stage, embraces Deza, then takes her backstage to wait while he finishes his performance. The crowd demands four encores. Eventually, Jimmie finishes his performance, then he and Deza leave the nightclub together.
Deza continues to show bravery, pluck, and a determination to survive no matter how insurmountable the odds are. She stood up successfully to Dolly Peaches, but a fully-grown man is another story. Jimmie’s career is starting to take him places, but it’s clear that he still values his family—especially his beloved sister Deza—above all else.
Themes
