All My Rage

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2022

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapters 1-7

Part 2, Chapters 8-17

Part 3, Chapters 18-27

Part 4, Chapters 28-32

Part 4, Chapters 33-40

Part 5, Chapters 41-53

Part 5, Chapters 54-58

Part 6, Chapters 59-65

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Symbols & Motifs

Music

Tahir uses music as a motif to show its power as a form of self-expression, escape, and emotional processing. Music is all of these things to Noor. She turns to music to understand her feelings, put her feeling into words, and temporarily escape from reality. Ironically, a love for 90s music is the only thing Noor and Chachu have in common, and Noor uses the music Chachu enjoys to deal with the trauma that he causes her.

Tahir also uses the music motif as a connecting point between Noor and Salahudin. Ama loved “The Wanderer” by Johnny Cash and U2, so Noor plays this song for Salahudin through an earbud during Ama’s funeral. Noor also plays songs for Salahudin that express her feelings for him in a subtle way. For example, when they go to Veil Meadows together, Noor plays a song called “I See You” from an album titled Kids in Love; the titles alone express the intimacy and romantic feelings she experiences with Salahudin.

Examples abound in the novel of other instances where Tahir mentions the specific artists and song titles Noor listens to, and readers familiar with some of the songs mentioned may make a connection between the song's meaning and a particular plot event.

Rage and Its Function

Tahir creates several characters who experience rage because of the circumstances life has brought to them. However, she also shows how they respond and use their anger differently. For example, Noor, Salahudin, and Chachu all experience rage at the struggles outside their control. However, they make different choices based on their rage.

Chachu, for instance, is angry that Noor’s survival of the earthquake in Pakistan derailed his college education and plans to become an engineer. He clings to this rage continuously and pours it onto Noor, blaming her for something she had no control over. He uses his fists to release his anger and exert control over Noor’s life and future. Chachu never finds healing from his rage; instead, he uses it to hurt others.

Salahudin feels rage because of Ama’s seemingly-preventable death and Abu’s drinking. He lets his anger blind him to common sense and channels it into attempting to save the motel at the cost of engaging in illegal activity and lying to his best friend. With time, however, Salahudin is able to let go of his rage. He finds forgiveness for himself, Ama, and Abu when he releases the trauma of his past and accepts responsibility for his decisions.

Finally, Noor rages at the many struggles beyond her control: Auntie Misbah’s death, Chachu’s abuse, failed attempts to get into college, and misjudgment from others. For a time, Noor’s rage makes her somewhat reckless. She punches Jamie and is belligerent to the police officers who arrest her. She also pushes Salahudin away and refuses to forgive him after he deceives her. However, Noor also uses her rage to help her fight for her future. She applies to college despite Chachu’s prohibition, defends herself against Chachu’s violence and leaves him, and testifies in court against all the lies she is accused of.

Through each character’s experience, Tahir shows that rage can be dangerous but also can be a powerful motivator. When people are willing to accept the circumstances of their lives and choose to move forward despite pain and struggle, they open themselves to healing, forgiveness, and hope.

“One Art” by Elizabeth Bishop

Tahir uses separate stanzas of Elizabeth Bishop’s poem “One Art” as epigraphs for each part of the novel. She also weaves the poem into the plot by making it the poem Noor is analyzing for an essay assignment in English class.

At one point, Noor and Salahudin discuss the poem together and have two differing interpretations of the poem’s message. Salahudin thinks Bishop is saying that once one gets used to losing small things, one starts to lose bigger things until losing itself becomes a habit. Noor, however, thinks Bishop is pointing out that losing things can be good because some things need to be lost or let go of. Tahir does not point toward any one interpretation of the poem, instead inviting the reader to analyze its meaning.

Noor’s essay assignment, in which she analyzes the poem, is a struggle for her. She receives an F—her first failing grade ever—on the first draft of the essay, and this moment in the plot coincides with the intensifying rising action as the struggles in both Noor and Salahudin’s life start to unravel. In contrast, Noor receives an A+ on her final draft of the poem analysis, and this moment corresponds with the plot’s movement toward resolution.

The essay symbolizes Noor’s hope, showing her that she has a chance at a bright future. An excerpt from Noor’s essay’s conclusion reveals her final takeaway that making peace with loss and finding meaning in it has value. One cannot control life's many difficulties; one can only respond to them and keep going despite them. This message echoes what Noor needs to do at this moment in the storyline: accept that others have misjudged her, that Chachu has abused her, and that she’s faced many other struggles in her life, and continue to fight for the possibility of a future at UCLA and her dream of becoming a doctor. Tahir uses “One Art” to speak to Noor and Salahudin’s experiences of loss and compel the reader to wrestle with the concept of experiencing loss in life.