78 pages • 2 hours read
Steve PembertonA Chance in the World
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2012A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Themes
The Search for Belonging and a Sense of Home
When Willie and Betty meet Steve for the first time, they are kind to him in front of the social worker. Steve believes this is his new home, a place where he is wanted. Being wanted and included are central to Steve’s concept of what a home is: “A place where the family actually wanted to keep me” (10). Steve longs for parental figures who provide him with care and validation, however, his hopes are soon dashed when the Robinsons reveal their abusive nature.
When he visits John Sykes’s family, it is the first time he has seen a picture of himself hung on someone’s wall. This gesture touches him, though he realizes that living with the Sykes is only temporary, and he has not yet found his home. Later, when Steve is in college, he feels more involved and a part of something bigger, but the holidays remind him that he is alone, with no family or home.
When he learns about his siblings, home becomes more of a concept than a place. He can share a genetic bond with his siblings even though he won’t be living with them. However, the family is divided and they fail to stay in touch.
