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Chapter 25. One Year Before 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
It’s Martin Luther King Day, which means that Claudia’s church is hosting its annual soup kitchen. Ma is in charge of the kitchen, so Claudia has to help. Claudia thinks that Monday used to help every year as she cuts carrots. Ma tells her to smile, since the folks waiting for food have way more to worry about. She pulls Claudia over to look at the line of people outside. She says that some of the families have homes but don’t eat well and tells Claudia to focus on the fact that she’s doing something kind. Claudia’s heart sinks when she sees some kids from Ed Borough. She pictures Monday out there. Ma says that a roof doesn’t make a home and opens the doors.
When Ma essentially tells Claudia to be thankful her good fortune, it suggests that Ma knows what some of the other families lined up outside are going through. Claudia may be missing her friend, but she has food, a warm place to sleep, and parents who love her. The insistence that a roof doesn’t make a home underlines the fact that simply having a place to stay isn’t enough—a person needs community and love in order to feel truly at home.
Themes
The line stampedes in. People are so thankful and happy. Ma talks to everyone, and Claudia busies herself filling people’s drinks. As Claudia sees little kids running in circles, she thinks of August and Tuesday. She grabs some crayons and some paper to entertain the little kids. She misses Monday, and she also misses August. Daddy stops by and tells Claudia that Ma is looking for her.
Fetching the crayons and paper is one of the first things Claudia does of her own volition. This is a major step for her, since before Monday’s disappearance, Claudia didn’t do anything without consulting Monday first. Claudia is beginning to develop some comfort with independence.
Themes
Ma tells Claudia to take over for a woman on the buffet line and to grab a tray from the kitchen. The woman compliments Claudia on getting the kids to draw and asks where Monday is. Claudia says that Monday is with family and rushes back out to the buffet. It feels like a lie, even though that’s what everyone told Claudia.
It's telling that saying Monday is with family feels like a lie to Claudia. Claudia knows something isn’t right here, and she senses that this answer is too simplistic. But because Claudia is so young, she doesn’t have any power to push any further for answers.
Themes
The line thins out and Ma greets an old woman near the end, Ms. Swaby. Ma hasn’t seen Ms. Swaby since Thanksgiving, and Ms. Swaby explains that she was evicted from Ed Borough. Ma offers to help the pastor figure out how to help Ed Borough’s residents. Before Ms. Swaby moves on, Ma asks if she’s seen Monday recently. Ms. Swaby asks if Monday has “crazy blond hair,” but Ma sighs that that was a while ago. Claudia can tell Ma is worried.
Meeting someone who’s already been evicted from Ed Borough reminds Claudia that life for Ed Borough’s residents is precarious right now, given the city’s push to redevelop the land. Especially when Ma notes that the pastor is going to help other Ed Borough residents, it implies that Monday’s family may be one of those in trouble.
Themes
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At home that night, Ma sends Claudia to get ready for bed. Claudia starts the tub but hears Ma’s voice downstairs. She creeps to the top of the stairs and listens to Ma and Daddy discuss Monday. Ma’s worried, but Daddy insists they have bigger things to worry about. When Ma keeps pushing, Daddy suggests that maybe Monday doesn’t want to be friends with Claudia anymore, especially after what happened last year. He says Claudia should make new friends and that disappointment is part of life.
Given the way that Daddy frames his argument, he implies that it’s none of his family’s business what’s going on with Monday. Indeed, the respectful thing to do would be to accept Monday’s silence—especially if Monday truly doesn’t want to be Claudia’s friend anymore. However, Daddy also seriously underestimates how much Claudia relied on Monday. For Claudia, making new friends isn’t an easy task, because she’s never had to try before.
Themes
Claudia thinks about Daddy’s words at school the next day. She slips into the bathroom to cry at lunch, wondering if Monday really doesn’t like her anymore. She wonders if “that picture” changed them. But Shayla’s shrill voice interrupts Claudia, asking who’s crying. When the girls outside the stall realize it’s Claudia, they say that she’s probably missing having sex with Monday. Claudia tries to leave the bathroom, but Shayla won’t let her. Shayla taunts Claudia for being dumb and needing the TLC and says that in “the picture,” it looked like Monday was going down on Claudia. Claudia tries to punch Shayla, but Shayla moves away. Shayla tries to shove Claudia’s face in the toilet and only stops when Ms. Valente runs into the bathroom.
Though this passage leaves the picture’s exact contents ambiguous, Shayla reveals that in the picture, it looks like Monday and Claudia are sexually involved. So Claudia is afraid now that Monday was just as insistent on fitting in as she is. More broadly, Shayla’s bullying shows why Daddy is wrong to assume that Claudia should be able to just move on and make new friends. The only girls at school that Claudia mentions by name are Shayla and Ashley, suggesting that Claudia is far more focused on these bullies than she is on other girls who could become friends.
Themes
Ms. Valente roars for Shayla and Ashley to leave and then turns to Claudia. She asks if Claudia really hit Shayla and scolds Claudia for trying, even if it was about “the picture.” Ms. Valente sends Claudia to the nurse. In the nurse’s office, though, a pretty blond woman greets her instead of old Ms. Orman. The woman introduces herself as Ms. Moser; Ms. Orman retired. Claudia lies that she ran into the wall in gym and tells Ms. Moser her name is Monday Charles.
The fact that even Ms. Valente knows about “the picture” suggests that it circulated among everyone in the school—it wasn’t just between Claudia, Monday, and their bullies. By telling Claudia that it doesn’t matter that Shayla brought up the picture, Ms. Valente tries to get Claudia to not worry so much about what other people think of her.
Themes
Ms. Moser opens up Monday’s file. After a quick scan, the nurse’s mouth drops open. She closes the door and asks if Claudia has any other bruises or injuries she needs checked out. Claudia says she’s fine but asks for her dad’s number. It’s not in the file, so Claudia says she feels fine. Claudia accepts aspirin and asks where Ms. Orman went. Ms. Moser says she’s in Florida and confirms that “Monday” still has Ms. Orman’s phone number. Claudia says she lost the number and asks for it again.
The fact that Claudia’s lie is successful makes it clear that the school administration is doing a poor job of communicating about students. Given that Monday isn’t registered, Ms. Moser should be able to find out quickly that Claudia is lying. This raises questions about what else the school is missing due to miscommunications.
Themes
