Theme

The main theme explored by Susan Isaacs in the short story “Getting Somewhere” is that of different worlds. Here, the theme is mainly illustrated by the extreme contrast between the lives and social conditions of the Haitian refugees and Karen. 

Despite Karen belonging to an upper-class background, she has an empathic way of dealing with people from different social positions. She is seemingly inspired by her own grandparents’ history when helping the Haitian refugees:

Weren’t their grandparents, like mine, coming to America to escape something terrible? […] All of a sudden I was yelling out loud, ‘Fuck this!’ […] I turned and saw a couple of Haitians behind me, about two cars back. I waved them over. (ll. 39-41)

Therefore, Karen hides the refugees from the police and tak...