Racism
Racism is perhaps the most important theme in The Unsettled. The novel's main character, Ava Carson, and her son Toussaint are African American and are struggling financially. As a result, the two are forced to live in a homeless shelter. Because of their skin color, they are not taken seriously by those around them and are condemned to living out their lives without much support. The system, in fact, is structurally racist and doesn't allow them to advance in their lives; it places roadblocks in their way. Despite that racism and those roadblocks, the family perseveres. Yet, they still struggle, showing the deep-seated nature of racism in the United States.
Childhood innocence
Toussaint, Ava's son, is only ten years old. However, he is exposed to things that no ten-year-old should have to witness, like violence, drug abuse, and other unsavory conditions by virtue of his homelessness. The novel makes the case that no child, but especially a child Toussaint's age, should witness such awful things. However, it also acknowledges that children are frequently forced to deal with such situations, causing them to lose their innocence and maturing them faster than they should. Even though Toussaint does mature faster than he should, he still retains a certain amount of childhood innocence, which enables him to see the world in a different, oftentimes heartbreaking way than his mother.
