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Part VI: Diary 82
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
As this student is walking around Washington, feeling that s/he has finally escaped the violence in Long Beach, s/he suddenly sees a swastika, the Nazi symbol, on the wall, and realizes that violence is everywhere. This student, who also used to write on walls (though never to inspire hatred), decides to cover up the swastika with a Freedom Writers logo s/he and her/his friend invent. They ask the hotel concierge to make copies of it and cover the swastikas with the pieces of paper. Everyone feels excited about seeing the swastika disappear, and this student feels safe again.
While the students do not find themselves in a situation of direct violence, they have learned enough about how hatred can spread in history to feel strongly about what certain symbols represent. Their decision to cover the swastikas demonstrates their commitment to creating a non-violent world, in terms of both physical violence (such as what they live through in Long Beach) and verbal or symbolic aggression (such as the swastika).
Themes
