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Summary
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Look Both Ways, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Perspective and Assumptions
Independence, Freedom, and Identity
Joy, Resilience, and Childhood
Fear, Friendship, and Support
Bullying
Summary
Analysis
This story was going to start like the best stories: with a school bus falling out of the sky. But since nobody saw the bus fall, this story will instead start like the good ones, with boogers. Jasmine Jordan tells her friend Terrence Jordan, or TJ, to get “them nasty, half-baked goblins” out of his nose, using the same tone her mother uses to tell Jasmine to take out her earbuds and listen—or else. TJ and Jasmine have been best friends for six years, since TJ moved three houses down from Jasmine on Marston Street. That’s basically forever.
From the start, this story creates tension by mentioning the school bus falling from the sky. It’s unclear if this story is going to be a tragedy because of a bus accident, and the story simply refuses to tell readers what’s going on when it segues into talking about boogers. The booger conversation, in contrast, is humorous and highlights how young TJ and Jasmine are. Their youth comes to the forefront again when the story mentions the kids having been friends for six years, which seems like “forever,” from a middle schooler’s perspective.
Themes
When the bell rings, Jasmine and TJ leave their life science class with Mr. Fantana. Spinning the dial on his locker confidently, TJ teases Jasmine for already “starting with [him],” even though she’s only been back at school for two days. Jasmine says she has no choice given how nasty TJ’s nose is. She concentrates as she spins her lock, as though the combination could change or her fingers could stop working. If either of these things happened, TJ would be there to help. TJ only shrugs and tosses his textbook into his smelly locker. The bottom of his locker is filled with empty snack bags that Jasmine has slipped in over the last few days. The kids call them “friendship flags,” and they let Jasmine say she’s missed TJ.
Again, the banter between TJ and Jasmine is good-natured and reflects their youth, as does TJ’s smelly locker. Readers might find the boogers gross, but the kids both clearly enjoying this conversation. Jasmine in particular relies on TJ’s support and friendship with the mention that he can help fix any issues with her locker. The “friendship flags” are a way for Jasmine and TJ to connect. The story also adds tension by noting that Jasmine can use them to say she missed TJ. It seems that she’s been absent from school, but this detail is left mysterious for now.
Themes
TJ finally uses the bottom of his shirt to wipe the slime and boogers out of his nose. He then tips his face up and asks Jasmine if his nose looks better now. She studies his nose, totally unconcerned that he just used his shirt as a tissue. The fact that he did so is disgusting, but he’s done more disgusting things, like pick gum off of the bottom of their shoes or slap a mosquito and then lick up the slime. She paid him a dollar to do that, and it was worth it for both of them. Jasmine says she can see all the way to TJ’s brain, and there’s part of it missing. But he’s good on the booger front now.
TJ and Jasmine’s lack of concern about cleanliness is another sign of how young they are, and of how willing they are to take joy in the simple pleasures their world has to offer. The note that TJ has picked gum off of Jasmine’s shoe as well as his own also illustrates another way that he takes care of her. This is something he can do to help her feel better, since he doesn’t think it’s gross. On another note, it’s not clear if Jasmine observing that part of TJ’s brain is missing is a serious statement (implying that he has a brain deformity or a developmental disability) or a joke regarding his unsavory habits.
Themes
Slamming his locker, TJ says all people are boogers anyway, so it doesn’t matter. Jasmine says she’s definitely not a booger as she and TJ switch backpacks. His is light, while Jasmine’s is heavy with textbooks and makeup work, and TJ is worried about her muscles (she’s still recovering from “the attack”). They head down the crowded hallway and TJ says he has a theory. Boogers are just water mixed with dust. At this, Jasmine interrupts and asks where TJ heard that (he might have heard it from Cynthia “Say-So” Sower, who does nothing but joke). TJ says he saw it online when he was trying to figure out why boogers taste salty. Disgusted, Jasmine puts a hand up, but TJ begs her to not hold his past against him.
The story introduces more tension with this mention of an “attack” on Jasmine and TJ’s worrying about Jasmine’s strength as she recovers. Something bad happened, but at this point, it’s not clear what. What is clear is that TJ may enjoy pestering Jasmine, but he’s also looking out for his friend and wants to make sure she gets home from school safely. And though TJ insists he heard about the makeup of boogers from a reputable source on the internet, Jasmine implies that TJ doesn’t always turn to reputable sources for information—another indicator that he’s still learning how to research and understand his world.
Themes
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TJ continues that his hypothesis that if boogers are mostly water and dust, and according to Mr. Fantana, humans are mostly water, and if according to church God made people out of dust, then people are basically boogers. Jasmine and TJ go to the same church and sing in the choir together, but while they both love to sing, TJ doesn’t know he’s terrible and Jasmine is aware she’s a bad singer.
TJ’s theory is outlandish, silly, and absurd, but it also shows that he’s thinking critically about things he’s learning about in various parts of his life. He’s learning to make connections, a sign that he’s growing up. The aside about the kids’ experiences in the choir also suggests that TJ just likes to perform, without any cares as to whether he’s good at what he’s performing or not. It seems more important to him to entertain people and make them laugh.
Themes
Having shared his theory, TJ looks pleased with himself. Jasmine says the theory is wrong, but TJ says she doesn’t have to believe it. He insists he should start teaching, since while everyone else is concerned with figuring out if aliens are real, he’s discovered that boogers are just “the babiest form of babies.” Jasmine can’t help but laugh, as usual. TJ can always make her laugh, and she appreciates it, especially after such a hard year.
The story confirms here that although TJ is genuinely thinking about things and making connections, his primary goal is to entertain Jasmine and get her to laugh. The way that Jasmine describes appreciating TJ’s humor again suggests that she’s had a difficult time. But she acknowledges that it’s been easier to get through whatever’s happened thanks to TJ’s friendship and humor.
Themes
The year started with Jasmine’s parents separating and her dad moving out. It wasn’t a dramatic or ugly separation, but there was the uncomfortable conversation around the kitchen table, some cursing on Jasmine’s part, and then the awkward weekend visits. Then, Jasmine had her “worst attack.” She has sickle cell anemia, a blood disease that can affect every part of her body. Usually it doesn’t give her much trouble, but this time, her entire body felt like it was on fire. She was in the hospital for a month with her parents hovering over her awkwardly (until the times when TJ showed up to break the ice and leave some friendship flags next to her bed).
Finally, the story explains what Jasmine has been dealing with: her parents’ divorce and her own sickle cell anemia. The “attack,” this reveals, was Jasmine’s body attacking herself, rather than an attack from another person. Furthermore, Jasmine has spent the year figuring out how to interact with her parents and their changing relationship. Being in the hospital, this implies, didn’t help much—it brought her parents together to support their daughter, but the only way they really got through it was thanks to TJ’s humor and his unwavering support. In Jasmine’s case, she seems to rely more on her friendship with TJ than on her parents to get her through difficult times.
Themes
Jasmine just got back to school two days ago, and the kids who have only given her attention because she and TJ are friends and “boys and girls can’t just be friends” now want to know everything about her illness. And now she has to catch up on all her homework, since it hurt to hold a pen when she was sick. This is also why she knows she’s not a booger: she’s not “gooey enough.”
It’s a challenge for Jasmine to suddenly be the center of attention, especially when the rest of the story seems to imply that Jasmine would rather forget that she’s been out sick for the last month. The story also suggests other kids saying that Jasmine and TJ can’t be friends borders on bullying, which would give Jasmine even more reason to avoid talking to these kids. The way Jasmine uses TJ’s humorous booger theory to describe her life with sickle cell anemia is also sobering: she can engage with his humor, but TJ doesn’t seem to understand that Jasmine is sensitive about the subject.
Themes
Back in the present, Jasmine jokes that maybe it’s just boys that are boogers. She and TJ cross the street and head down Portal Avenue. They’ve been walking this way forever, but TJ has been walking it alone for the last month. Today is the first day that Jasmine’s mom has let Jasmine walk home after returning to school. TJ asks Jasmine what she is if she isn’t a booger. As Jasmine thinks, she studies the houses on Marston Street. Her mom always says this is an old neighborhood. Unlike the new, nicer streets with houses that all look the same (and boring), on Marston, the houses are all different and look lived in.
The strength of Jasmine and TJ’s friendship runs through this passage. It’s been hard on TJ, it seems, to walk home alone for the last month, and it’s a happy change for Jasmine to finally be joining her best friend on the walk again. They can finally go back to talking about silly things, like boogers. And it’s possible to read Jasmine’s observations about the houses on Marston Street as a metaphor for her friendship with TJ. They’re different from the other kids at school, they’ve been friends “forever,” and TJ makes Jasmine feel safe and secure.
Themes
Jasmine says she’s the thing that Mr. Fantana showed a picture of in class earlier, that kind of looks like a booger: a water bear. TJ laughs and says those creatures look like his “old mother,” with its long nails and its “weird” mouth. He says it’d be scary like his old mother if it weren’t so tiny. Jasmine says that Ms. Macy isn’t scary, but TJ says Ms. Macy is his new mother; he also has a scary old mother and he doesn’t know his “mother mother.” Shuddering, TJ asks why Jasmine wants to be something so tiny that nobody can see it. Jasmine says that according to Mr. Fantana, scientists think the water bear is the toughest living thing—it can survive extreme heat, cold, and pressure, and it didn’t care when they sent it to space. It just keeps crawling, like Jasmine does.
As far as Jasmine is concerned, the water bear is a perfect metaphor for her: it just keeps going and surviving, no matter what happens to her. She bounced back after a sickle cell anemia attack and after her parents’ divorce, and she’s still here with TJ. This isn’t such a nice idea to TJ, though, because of how water bears look. It’s implied that he hasn’t had good experiences with any of his caregivers aside from Ms. Macy, who is presumably TJ’s foster parent. TJ’s past might have been traumatic and difficult too, but in a different way than Jasmine’s was.
Themes
TJ scoffs that that’s great if Jasmine believes that, but Jasmine insists that if he believes God made people out of dust, she can believe Mr. Fantana about the water bears. She suggests they could be stepping on water bears right now and not even know. At this, TJ glances down and scratches his arms, as though his body and the sidewalk might be crawling with the creatures. Jasmine has never realized that TJ isn’t afraid of anything he can see—but maybe he’s afraid of the things that he can’t “smash or smear,” like bugs or dog poop.
Jasmine is seeing TJ in a new way here. She realizes that TJ feels in control when he can physically change the world around him (as when he smashes bugs). But the things he can’t control—like microscopic creatures, and perhaps his past living situation—frighten him. Again, though, he can rely on Jasmine to help get him through. Jasmine, for instance, doesn’t insist on talking about the water bears, which means that TJ doesn’t become even more uncomfortable.
Themes
TJ and Jasmine reach TJ’s small house with the hole in the screen door that TJ’s foot made. Sometimes, he says that his feet “get mad” and do things of their own volition, so nobody should blame him for what they do. Jasmine always laughs, though she knows it’s not really a joke. They sit on the front steps and decide that maybe they’re both “water booger bears.” At this, TJ’s mom of the last six years, Ms. Macy, steps onto the porch in her work uniform. She kisses both kids on the head and asks how school was. They both say it was fine—and then she asks what they learned. She always asks this question. Jasmine and TJ look at each other—there’s a new booger in TJ’s nose—and say together that they learned nothing.
The story shows again that TJ has come from difficult circumstances and sometimes struggles to control his emotions. Jasmine helps him avoid talking about his difficult past by treating what he says as a joke, even when she knows it’s not funny—it’s a sign that TJ has experienced trauma. Ms. Macy’s kindness toward the kids suggests that TJ is safe and secure now, though. The “water booger bears” symbolize TJ and Jasmine’s friendship: they’ve combined each of their imaginary identities into one wild creature. And saying they learned nothing is a way for TJ and Jasmine to assert their independence—what happened at school or on the walk home belongs to them, not to the adults who care for them.
Themes
