How to Read the Air Themes & Motifs

Dinaw Mengestu
This Study Guide consists of approximately 44 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of How to Read the Air.
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How to Read the Air Themes & Motifs

Dinaw Mengestu
This Study Guide consists of approximately 44 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of How to Read the Air.
This section contains 1,862 words
(approx. 5 pages at 400 words per page)
Buy the How to Read the Air Study Guide

Role of Individual's Past In Shaping His Future

Throughout How to Read the Air, the author uses Jonas's attempts to understand his personal and parental histories as a means of exploring the role of one's past in shaping his possible future. Though Jonas seems initially unaware of the reasons he is compelled to recount his memories of Yosef, Mariam, and Angela, by the end of the novel, he discovers that each of his remembrances grants him clarity on who he is, where he has come from, and where he might belong next.

During his child- and adulthood, Jonas has never possessed much information regarding his parents' life before he was born; he was therefore incapable of perceiving them as distinct individuals outside the context of his growing up. It is not until after both Yosef and Mariam die, Jonas loses his teaching job, and he and Angela...

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This section contains 1,862 words
(approx. 5 pages at 400 words per page)
Buy the How to Read the Air Study Guide
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