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Chapter 14. The Before
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Monday’s Not Coming, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Child Abuse
Family, Community, and Responsibility
Growing Up, Independence, and Friendship
Secrecy and Shame
Poverty, Social Support, and Desperation
Memory, Repression, and Trauma
Summary
Analysis
Claudia notes that people probably associate dance with colors like pink and white. She thinks of simple colors like gray and charcoal, since she tries to look like “shadows on a page” when she dances. Claudia and Ms. Manis are the only ones in the studio. Ms. Manis calls Claudia over to talk about her solo. She explains that she chooses songs for the pieces to challenge her students, so they don’t stay in their comfort zones with their favorite music. Then, she puts on a song: Adele’s “All I ask.” Claudia listens for a minute and then notes that it’s slow—most jazz dancers stick to faster music. Ms. Manis explains that this is the perfect song for healing. Claudia is disappointed. She can’t use the moves that she and Monday came up with on a slow song.
Talking about color like this is a way for Claudia to help make sense of the world around her. It seems that, given her struggles with the written word, color and dance help her to put things in perspective and understand the world around her. On another note, when Ms. Manis explains her reasoning for choosing her dancers’ music, she shows that she’s interested in helping her students grow and mature. To her, a slow song will help Claudia grow and “heal.” This, of course, begs the question of what exactly Claudia is healing from. For Claudia, though, this is ridiculous—she doesn’t want to mature in this way if it means she has to leave behind everything she choreographed with Monday.
Themes
After the lesson, as Claudia heads for the locker room, she accidentally slams into High Bun. The girl apologizes, opens a locker, and reminds Claudia her name is Megan. Megan asks if Claudia got her solo song yet. When Claudia says it’s an Adele song, Megan says it’ll be pretty and heads into the studio.
Though Claudia has vowed to not connect with the girls in her dance class, Megan shows here that she’s not actually as stuck up and different as Claudia seemed to think she was. She even seems supportive of Claudia—suggesting that if Claudia makes the effort, the dance girls may be future friends.
Themes
