Lucky Broken Girl

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2017

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Themes

Controlling and Overcoming Fear

Ruthie and other characters experience fear throughout Lucky Broken Girl. The car accident and its associated imagery—ambulances, emergency workers, sirens, a woman “tangled up in metal” (42), and a man’s mention of the dead—leave Ruthie with a dread and fear of what will happen next; at the hospital, she hears the sounds of pain and fear around her as she waits “on a stretcher moaning and crying too” (43). Ruthie wakes alone after the first night in the hospital, not knowing where her family members are or when she will see them again. Later, Ruthie’s parents and family show fear and uncertainty as Dr. Friendlich explains the need for Ruthie’s surgery and full body cast. The awkward and uncomfortable conditions associated with Ruthie’s plight set the tone throughout the early parts of the book; she feels anxious, hopeless, and burdensome. She keeps a flashlight for nighttime, because “The scariest time is the deepest deep of night” (88).

Ruthie soon devises a tent-like set up with her sheet and flashlight that helps her to control her fear as she repeats a self-soothing mantra: “You’re going to be fine. You’re going to be fine” (89). This action establishes Ruthie’s capability to work through fear. Later, Amara will help Ruthie to overcome her fear of walking first with and then without her crutches; Chicho will help her as well, with the aid of his strong arms and music: “The tango is music for those who are sad. The tango is music to help you cry. So you can let go of your sadness. Then you can be happy again” (212). Ruthie is initially afraid to return to school as well, but with the help of Danielle at her side, she soon confidently travels to and from school; she even takes pride in how advanced she is in her studies thanks to Joy’s teaching and her own hard work while bedridden.

Ruthie is cognizant of her own fear, as she points out in a letter to her friend Ramu: “I’ve learned I’m a terrible scaredy-cat, Ramu” (217). She also realizes that others experience fear as well: “That’s how I learned that even Danielle, who is so sophisticated, and Mrs. Levy-Cohen, who had the courage to ask for a divorce, even they are sometimes afraid to be alive” (199). Not even the adults in Ruthie’s life are immune to fear; in fact, the uncertainty that makes Ruthie’s recovery so nerve-racking resembles the uncertainty the entire family faced in coming to America. In both cases, the theme of fear also intersects with that of lost independence. Just as Ruthie’s loss of control over her body frightens her, the loss of control that comes of being in a foreign country, surrounded by an unfamiliar language, sometimes overwhelms Ruthie’s mother. By the end of the story, Ruthie sees that working through these fears is a process that takes patience, time, and helpful coping strategies.

Loss of Freedom and Independence

The theme of lost freedom surfaces even in the backstory to Lucky Broken Girl, as the Mizrahis and their extended family members and friends must leave their beloved Cuba to escape Fidel Castro’s oppressive communist regime. America offers freedom to pursue careers, wealth, education, and other opportunities they would not have in Cuba, so they emigrate to New York and work to accept the challenges of establishing a new life there. Both Mami and Ruthie talk nostalgically of Cuba in the opening chapters; Mami misses her proximity to friends, her home, the people, the landscape, and the country itself; Ruthie seems to miss elements of her childhood in Cuba, as she is upset to learn that Mami got rid of the doll and dress she associated with her home country. Nevertheless, they both hear repeatedly how lucky they are to be in America and to enjoy its freedoms, and the promise of this independence serves as a counterweight to what they have lost.

It is therefore ironic that Mami and Ruthie are the family members most impacted by Ruthie’s injury, which curtails the freedom they were just beginning to embrace. Ruthie realizes how much she misses the freedom to walk, move about, and go outside; she is cognizant of Mami’s feeling of loss as well, as exemplified when she petitions Frida Kahlo: “But try to heal me. Okay, Frida? Not just for my sake, but so my pretty mami can go out and stroll around in her high heels and be admired by everybody” (129).

Further complicating matters is the fact that Ruthie is on the cusp of adolescence as the novel begins. This is a time when many children begin wanting to assert their independence more forcefully, but Ruthie must come of age throughout her long months trapped in bed. Although this is not a typical path to adulthood, Ruthie does in fact mature during the experience, especially in her opinions of herself and others; for example, she initially wants her family to sue the family of the boy who caused the accident, but later she forgives him and prays for his acceptance in heaven. This not only shows maturation, but also allows Ruthie to experience a different kind of freedom—freedom from the emotional and psychological burden of hate.

Ruthie therefore comes to understand that freedom doesn’t just mean freedom from physical constraints, but rather means many things to different people; for example, she and Joy discuss the kind of freedom that results from true racial equality. Ruthie intuits that her loss of freedom is temporary; only patience and courage are needed to regain it, whereas those fighting for racial equality must fight a longer and harder battle. Ruthie also touches on the topic of religious freedom near the end of the novel, deciding, “Some people don’t think you should pray to more than god. But I wonder how many people who say that have spent a year of their lives in a body cast and then tried to get up and walk again? […] I am free to be me” (218).

Acceptance and Generosity

The theme of acceptance recurs throughout the novel with regard not only to varied cultures and religions, but also to the roles, tasks, and circumstances with which we must sometimes comply. For example, Ruthie welcomes and accepts the cultural differences between her various acquaintances. Uncle Bill has a “thick American accent” but is an accepted and loved member of the family (20). Danielle speaks and dresses in ways Ruthie finds elegant, sophisticated, and interesting; Ruthie doesn’t envy or disparage Danielle just because she “feels like the fairy tale’s ragged girl with the basket of onions” when she is around her (9). She sticks up for Ramu when others at the lunch table tease him for the spicy smell emanating from his packed lunch. Both Ruthie and her parents welcome Chicho and Amara, who are from Mexico and Puerto Rico, respectively.

Ruthie’s welcoming spirit also extends to religious differences. Though Jewish herself, she is unfazed when she learns details about the Sharmas’ religion from Ramu. She is also eager to pray not only to the Abrahamic God, but also to Shiva (whom she learned about via her friend Ramu) and even Frida Kahlo (whom Chicho labels a guardian angel for injured artists).

In some ways, accepting others is easier than accepting one’s own circumstances. Mami is an example of someone who initially is standoffish and unaccepting of a role she is given, but who eventually overcomes her shortcomings and accepts her role and how it impacts others. For example, early in the novel Mami shares coffee with her father in the kitchen, complaining of her lack of freedom while Ruthie lies in soiled sheets. Later, though, she more gracefully accepts her job as Ruthie’s caretaker. When Ruthie convinces Mami to share a pair of gold sandals with her, Mami says, “It’s not easy to walk on one foot” (156)—a nod to the difficulty Ruthie undergoes daily in trying to move about. Notably, Ruthie never blames her mother for her feelings, and in fact professes only love and understanding, knowing that the burden of her care is tiring for Mami.

The novel ends on a clear note of acceptance, as Ruthie thinks she feels her own heart breaking open in happiness: “That must be my heart’s way of making room for all the love the world still has to give” (231). Here, Ruthie demonstrates that her experiences haven’t soured her; she is more capable than ever of giving and receiving joy and affection.