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Chapter 52
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Piecing Me Together, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Intersectionality, Identity, and Discrimination
The Power of Language
Mentorship, Opportunity, and Dignity
Friendship
Summary
Analysis
Jade enters Mr. Flores’s classroom at lunch and she finds him watching a video on his laptop. She catches it saying that Natasha Ramsey has been released from the hospital. Mr. Flores apologizes and he pauses the video, but Jade asks if they can watch it together. When it’s over, Mr. Flores says that he’s happy that Natasha is going to be okay physically and he asks what Jade wanted to talk about. Jade looks away but she says she wants to talk about why he didn’t nominate her for the study abroad program. She gives her reasons why she should go, including that this is probably her only opportunity to travel internationally. Mr. Flores blushes and goes pale, but he says he needs to be fair to his other students. He points out that Jade has lots of support through other programs.
This is a major moment for Jade, as it’s one in which she finally works up the courage to ask for what she wants: information. Asking for information is, importantly, far less consequential than asking for action or change—she’s not asking Mr. Flores to change his mind or nominate her now, something that would probably require a lot of work on his part. However, asking for information is far more emotional, as Jade has to be prepared to hear things she’d rather not hear from a teacher she looks up to and admires.
Themes
Jade clarifies that she doesn’t think the other students shouldn’t go, she just thinks she should go too. She asks why people only see her as needy and not as someone with something to give. Mr. Flores doesn’t answer and he walks Jade to the door, insisting that it’s his job to be fair. Jade takes a breath, checks her tone, and then asks how it’s fair that she doesn’t get to go when she tutors half the kids who are going. She realizes that she’s sad and angry but she thanks Mr. Flores for his time and leaves the room. Jade cries in the bathroom. She doubts talking to Mr. Flores will do anything, but she’s proud of herself for speaking up.
In Jade’s mind, if people saw her as someone with something to give, she’d feel normal. This illustrates just how much of a shackle Jade’s poverty is for her—it’s the thing that makes her feel needy and abnormal at St. Francis. When Jade does experience pride that she spoke up for herself, it shows how far she’s come. Even if this experience didn’t do anything but make her uncomfortable, she recognizes that it was good practice and it makes her feel better about herself in the long run.
Themes
