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Gianna Marasciulo

Ms. Connor

Honors English IIII

30 August 2021

For One More Day Essay

There are many key themes in For One More Day. The four main themes in this novel are

gender, family, innocence, and appreciation. These listed themes have been pivotal in the story

that was told through the novel. The main character, Chick, was impacted by each of them as the

story went on. They had an impact on his life as a whole as well. Each of these themes was

highlighted by the author to how important each of them is.

The first of the four themes is gender. Gender is one of the most talked-about topics in

this day and age. In this novel, Chick was taught at a young age the differences between men and

women He was told that he could either be a mama’s boy or a daddy’s boy. He had to make the

choice. He could not be both. His mother, Posey, made it very clear to Chick that she loved him.

His father, Len, on the other hand, would not show his affection. This made Chick “choose” his

father because he wanted to dig deep and find the love his father was hiding. When Len left,

Posey was left to pick up all the pieces of her broken family. Chick and his sister were

heartbroken and had many questions that they wanted answers to. Chick’s mother was also

greatly affected by this change because the community now looked at her differently. Many now

looked down upon her. Divorce was not common and the blame was put on her for the failed

marriage. Sexist behavior is something that many women have to endure. This novel shines a

light on this sensitive topic.

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The second theme is family. In my opinion, this theme is the most prevalent in the novel.

The story takes us through the ups and downs of Chick’s family life. We see how what is

happening within his family affects him. Chick has had to figure out his way through some tough

challenges such as his father leaving, suicide, and alcoholism. No matter what he is going

through, we see that his family is always there for him. When Chick has his own family and feels

like he has lost his way, his mother shows him that he is never alone. Chick can turn his life

around and rebuild relationships.

The third theme is innocence. This novel takes us on Chick’s life journey. We get to

watch him grow from a child into an adult. As a child, he has a very innocent way of thinking.

His life experiences are limited at this point and he does not have much understanding about the

world around him. When his father leaves, Chick has a hard time wrapping his head around why

it happened. His innocence makes him embarrassed and unsettled. He assumed it was his

mother’s doing and took it out on her. As Chick grows, his innocence decreases. He can

thoughtfully reflect on his life with a better understanding of what happened and why.

The last theme is appreciation. Posey was always Chick’s biggest support system. Even

when she did not like the choices he made, she still was there for him. When Chick was younger,

he spent much of his time focusing on how to get his father to love him. He lost out on spending

more time with his mother who had always let her children know that she loved them. When

Posey’s marriage fell apart, she took charge and worked hard for her family. Chick wishes that he

spent more time appreciating everything his mother did for him. The list of when his mother

stood up for him and when he did not stand up for her shows this.
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In conclusion, For One More Day has a lot of important themes incorporated throughout

it. Each theme helps us understand the story on a deeper level. We see how the themes have

influenced Chick’s life. Taking these lessons learned is important. We can incorporate them into

our day-to-day life by reflecting. Gender, family, innocence, and appreciation are subjects that

are important to understand so that we can live a good life.