THEMES - THEME ANALYSIS

As the conflicts in the book center around Cedric's inner struggles and interaction with others, his growth as a character often relate to the development of the book's themes. The main theme of the novel - the importance of making correct life choices when defining one's identity - is all about such lessons. The specific decisions Cedric makes are detailed further in this section; for now it suffices to say that as a bildungsroman, A Hope in the Unseen follows Cedric in his crucial years of growth by tracking the decisions he made, right and wrong, towards academic achievement and emotional maturity. His stumbles are examined in as much detail as his successes, as Cedric tries to learn from what he did wrong and not repeat the same mistakes.

Thematically, Cedric's decisions to combat adversity aren't the only ones we witness. The choices made by other people in the book are often contrasted against those of Cedric's, often as a counterpoint to the decisions he makes for himself. The most obvious example is Cedric's father, Cedric Gilliam, who despite his college-level education makes poor choices that land him in prison and keep him estranged from his son. It is only when Gilliam starts making correct choices that he is able to not only correct his own life, but have a productive bond with Cedric Junior. Cedric's mother Barbara Jennings also provides a useful counterpoint to his choices: when the two part ways in order that Cedric can go to college, Barbara starts to make poor decisions financially, resulting in their near-eviction. These decisions were reached due to the loss of her son (sometimes called empty nest syndrome) and a continued belief that she felt she couldn't share her problem with others,. The end of the novel shows that Cedric has matured enough to help care for her, and that he's aware this is only possible because of all the love and guidance she had provided up to then.

Among his peers, there is a clear contrast between the choices made by students at Ballou and those at Brown University. The high school students of Ballou generally chose to ignore their education or limit their ambitions, only to watch as Cedric moves beyond them for daring to believe he can do better academically. The tragedy of this situation is symptomatic of life among inner city youths, Suskind asserts: they are offered few options and often refuse opportunities which can better them. Cedric's willingness to make his bold choices are the anomaly, earning him resentment and ridicule - but also a way out of the trap perpetuated by poor educational standards and self-destructive peer pressure.

At Brown, the situation is different: these students are part of an elite, academically gifted, and often from affluent backgrounds. The choices they make have less to do with limiting the opportunities in their life than in asserting their identities in a way that feels true to each of them as individuals. Zayd Dohrn has to come to terms with his counterculture parents and his own attitude towards women, while Rob Burton lives under the weight of familial expectations and what he chooses to study. Chiniqua Milligan has to make a choice that is most clearly aligned with Cedric's interests, in that she decides to become active with the on-campus African American community and wishes Cedric to join her in this endeavor. The compromise they reach is part of Cedric's ability to grow and balance his identity as a student who embraces diversity but also respects his own racial community

The theme of education is played out as a series of learned mistakes. That is, Cedric has to learn for himself the consequences of certain actions he chooses as a student, but benefits from those lessons as he continues moving forward. The first important stumble is his enrollment in the MIT summer program: at first he believes he has finally started on his new life - only to find himself flailing in the classes he takes and ultimately being turned down by Leon Trilling as a possible college student at MIT. More cautious, he nevertheless renews his ambitions and applies to Brown University because it is more open to people of his background. Once there, he decides to play it safe and take all his classes - several chosen for their ease - on a pass / fail grading. He comes to regret this decision as he realizes that what drives him to achieve is a sense of pride in overcoming the challenges he poses for himself. As a result, his second semester at Brown is considerably more ambitious. Though he has to drop one class and struggles with other courses, he nevertheless earns grades which makes him believe he has earned his place at the university.

These broads sweeps of thematic development cover the formal aspect of Cedric's education. In keeping with a true bildungsroman, Cedric also grows emotionally and reaches new insights about himself and his sense of identity, an education which is just as important as the classes he attends. This path of personal growth and emotional development tie into the major themes that follow.

The theme of religion and faith develops in terms of Cedric's growing faith in himself, which eventually results in a break from his religion as embodied by Scripture Cathedral. Cedric starts the book with close ties to his church, which provide a moral compass that guides both himself and his mother Barbara. However, readers soon enough learn that the church had disappointed Cedric when his prominent role in the choir was taken from him. While Cedric gains strength from his religious beliefs - as seen by his sermon-like speech at high school graduation - he also finds that it limits his ability to interact with his peers as well as commit to his educational goals. Ultimately, he makes a choice between the pride which got him through his academic challenges and the humility promoted by church teachings - and pride wins out, almost from necessity. His break from the church is respectful, as he asks Bishop Long for permission to leave Scripture Cathedral. After, he continues to attend services, which shows his understanding about the importance of spirituality even as he cuts the formal ties.

The theme of race plays out vividly in the course of the story. There are unusual complexities along the way, much of it hinging on the context of the situation: he is considered shamefully white for studying so much while in Ballou, then is considered exotically black in college because of his inner city background. He uses the word "nigger" on Thanksgiving night when he desperately seeks comfort among black friends, yet fights with Chiniqua about his participation in the African American community on-campus. Cedric does not want to be defined by his race, but certainly finds comfort among other black people as he successfully asserts his identity beyond race. That is, the more self-aware he becomes, the better he can place his black identity in the proper context. The opening of the book deals with a high school that is entirely African American and considers Cedric a "whitey"; towards the end, as Cedric's first year at Brown University closes, he finds himself walking away from the black dormitory on campus and basking in the diversity of experiences available at Brown. He has become comfortable with his identity as a young African American male, but also as part of a more open, diverse community that is Brown, finding a strong balance between the two.

The theme of social class does not so much develop within Cedric as develop around him. That is, Cedric remains roughly in the same class as when he began the story, but moves to a setting which will allow him to be upwardly mobile. We understand that by being a Brown student, Cedric is moving up - but by the end of the story proper, he still spends his summers in the Washington, D.C. inner city where he grew up. However, during the course of the book Cedric becomes exposed to a wide range of social classes which encompasses all races. He experiences shock at the differences, most notably in his Thanksgiving dinner with Donald Korb and his family - but Cedric himself does not move upward in any discernible fashion in the book, instead being an observer expanding his horizons.

Having no real development, the theme of class is instead used to illustrate several points. First, we see that significant differences can exist within a given social class: for example, the counterculture heroes that are Zayd's parents are quite different from the more conventional upper class of Rob's family. Also, while Cedric comes from the same lower class background as others at Ballou, he is one of the very few who decides he can rise above his meager beginnings and succeeds in doing so. Second, we learn that context can influence the way one's class is perceived: after beginning at Brown, Cedric goes to two different inner city schools - returning to Ballou as an alumni and visiting Slater Junior High School as an observer --where he is torn between feeling "at home" and knowing he is considered elevated from those surroundings. The tension between how he feels and how he is perceived brings a rush of different emotions for him, especially when his perceived privilege leads to unexpected conflicts (notably, Mr. Fleming's hateful statement). Third and most important, we see that social class has a way of influencing one's decision: Rob is much less concerned about order and cleanliness in his dorm room because he comes from an upper class background where individuality is emphasized; for Cedric, the need for order and cleanliness is important because it provides structure that keeps him motivated and disciplined in his lower class family. Coming from a middle class family, Chiniqua is much more open to exploring the African American community on-campus, while Cedric's lower class background is a key reason for what keeps him away. The more Cedric assimilates into Brown - and thus, moves upward in class - the more amenable he becomes to Chiniqua's prodding about race.

The last major theme of masculinity is as problematic as race and class for Cedric, and at the beginning as vivid a reminder to Cedric of his apparent deficiencies. However, it resolves itself in a much more clean-cut fashion. At Ballou, he is ridiculed for not being masculine enough: an Honors student, Cedric is not seen as sexually desirable by most of the females in his school - the only one who seems to take an interest in him is LaTisha, herself an outcast. Cedric's sense of his own manhood is reinforced when placed in a context outside of his inner city neighborhood: he is considered more street savvy - and thus, more manly - among students from more affluent backgrounds, first at MIT then at Brown. There are obstacles, most notably in the rigid moral guidelines which limit his social interactions at Brown, as well as the incident which exposes his homophobia.

In order to grow and become a part of Brown, Cedric has to contend with views of gender roles that aren't so fixed as the ones in Ballou, that allow for greater tolerance in different kinds of behavior. This is best seen in his friendship with Zayd, whose willingness to reach out to Cedric shows a vulnerability that Cedric himself must learn to embrace. Indeed, the last we see of Zayd in the story proper, he is hugging Cedric, who chides him for such "white" behavior. By the end of Cedric's first year in Brown, he has also befriended a lesbian woman, Molly Olsen, which also indicates an openness he hadn't felt before. (Though it should be noted that his opinions on male homosexuality are never touched upon again, so we are not sure if he has grown increasingly tolerant of that aspect.) His masculinity is further emphasized in the epilogue, which states he is dating a young woman on the Brown basketball team.

The minor theme of anger develops as a lessening, then a focusing, and finally a welcome loss. Cedric begins the book full of anger and resentment, and claims he moves forward in his life by having something to push against. He rails against the opposition to his ambitions, leading to his greatest burst of anger in the book, when he calls Leon Trilling a racist. Further, when the anger is diffuse - a desire to rage against something, though not sure why - it is counterproductive, most notably in the rift he creates with Zayd early in his second semester at Brown. Cedric doesn't know why he feels a need to strike against his friend emotionally, but he does so anyway at his own detriment.

On the other hand, anger also helps Cedric in unexpected ways: the graduation speech is an example of this, as is the poem he writes for his Education midterm. In these cases, anger translates into passion, into a reminder of what his goals are and a desire to further those goals. When Cedric is instructed to learn to distance himself intellectually from his experiences, his anger diminishes accordingly. The close of the penultimate chapter finds him in a moment of joy, as he stands in the rain in the middle of a lively night on the Brown campus - a refutation of the anger he's felt in the past, and a welcoming of the joy that his new life and ambitious future promise him. When he writes his Education final and has reached an academic maturity, it coincides with a newfound peace he discovers in himself. By the end of the book, Cedric looks back on his life and finds that he now has nothing to push against, to vent his anger towards - and he doesn't miss it.

The other minor theme of the book, cultural understanding, may be considered as a necessary part of Cedric's formal education, as well as a means by which he can develop socially. Soon after arriving at Brown, Cedric notes that there are many references he must learn in order to fit in at college. However, Cedric values television and finds that he can compare his peers to television characters as a way of bonding with them. Music is the primary way that cultural understanding is established between characters in the book: shared interest in the same music helps strengthen bonds Cedric has with Zayd and Chiniqua, while learning to like Robert's music (and vice-versa) is a means of healing the rift with his dorm roommate. This minor theme is not explored with any meaningful development, instead appearing at times to help accentuate the education Cedric undergoes. At the end of the book, readers can assume Cedric has assimilated with life on the Brown campus and has become well-versed in the culture necessary for this academic milieu.