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Chapter 13
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Out of My Mind, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Disability and Ability
Language, Communication, and Identity
Acceptance vs. Rejection
Family
Summary
Analysis
The Monday after Thanksgiving break Rose brings a new laptop to school. Melody imagines what a laptop made for her could look like. It would have big keys and would connect to her wheelchair. She signals to Catherine that she wants a computer like Rose has, and Catherine understands that Melody doesn’t want a laptop, but a special computer, just for her, for communicating.
The prospect of a personal computer is exciting for Melody. One of her primary struggles in life is communicating all the thoughts inside her head, and a computer would allow her a new degree of self-expression.
Themes
Later, in language arts class, Melody thinks about the biography project. She decides to investigate Stephen Hawking. She wants to know how he does day-to-day activities, how he goes to the bathroom, how he parents his children. She’s especially interested in seeing how he talks and does math. Catherine promises to investigate a computer for Melody.
Stephen Hawking is exciting to Melody because, like her, he is unable to control much of his body, but is still widely recognized to be a genius. It makes sense that Melody would be interested in another smart person who uses a wheelchair, particularly someone who is famous for his intelligence.
Themes
