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Afterword: Diary 7
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Freedom Writers Diary, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Race, Ethnicity, and Tolerance
Education and Healing
Family and Home
Violence, War, and Death
Summary
Analysis
This student describes his mother as the best thing in his life. As a young, black boy, he felt that he was condemned to poverty and death, bearing his difficult circumstances like a disease, feeling that he was condemned to end up like the friends he had buried over the years. When the Freedom Writers go to see the movie about them, he is proud to see their crowds of fans who appreciate their stories.
This Freedom Writer finds comfort in realizing that his life story has inspired others, instead of condemning him to a life of violence and isolation. He recognizes his mother’s importance in his life in order to emphasize that he has not succeeded alone, but that his success is also the product of a loving environment.
Themes
When he sees his character in the movie, he is amazed by how similar the actor is to his old self. When he sees the scene in which he returns home to his mother, promising that he has changed, and his mother lets him in, he feels infinitely grateful to his mother for having given him a second chance. He realizes that the bond he shares with his mother is unbreakable, and that she will always be there for him. He feels that he wants to keep on making her proud for the rest of his life.
This Freedom Writer’s appreciation for his second chance mirrors the entire group’s enthusiasm at Ms. Gruwell’s “Toast for Change,” in which they were given the opportunity to begin new lives. This demonstrates that true love involves not judging someone on their past, but trusting in their capacity to change in the present and the future.
Themes
