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Chapter 19
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
There are 12 girls in the Woman to Woman program. Jade thinks that they’re 12 seeds, prayers, histories, questions, smiles, and tomorrows. Being part of the program is like having 12 new aunts. Tonight, Jade is at a “girl talk night” at Sabrina’s house, which has shiny hardwood floors and it doesn’t feel crowded with 25 people. Jade hopes they’re going to talk about how to get a house like Sabrina’s, but the topic tonight is dating. Sabrina asks each mentee to write down questions, but Jade writes nothing. Several girls seem experienced enough to lead the session, Jade and a few others are too busy with school to worry about boys, three are excited, and Jasmine is saving herself for marriage.
Though Jade shares with the reader that she’d like to learn how to purchase a home like Sabrina’s, she doesn’t share this with anyone else. Jade’s tone seems a bit offhand, which suggests that she might think this desire is silly—but it isn’t, especially considering the clear link Mom drew between home ownership, security, and power. Though it’s impossible to come up with topics that please everyone (and some girls are clearly interested in talking about dating), Jade isn’t getting what she needs out of Woman to Woman right now because she isn’t asking for it.
Themes
Sabrina asks the oldest mentor to start by sharing what she wishes someone had told her about dating when she was a teen. She says that her mom told her to worry about herself and love herself first. The mentors all nod and others add that the girls will keep growing and changing, and that relationships should be fun. Jade notices that Maxine is silent and she is acting like she doesn’t want to talk. Then, Sabrina turns to the box of the mentees’ question. One question is about how to get over someone. Jade looks at Maxine but she looks away quickly. She wonders what it feels like to have the same questions the mentees do, but to supposedly be in charge. To end, Sabrina says that they all must believe that they’re worthy of love and of achieving their dreams.
As Jade considers how Maxine might be feeling, she develops empathy for Maxine. When Jade recognizes that Maxine is a mentor and not a mentee just because she’s a little bit older, it begins to impress upon Jade that not even adults have everything figured out—even those adults who are, in theory, in charge. This empathy and understanding will help Jade see Maxine as more of a friend and less of an authority figure, though it’s worth keeping in mind that Maxine will also need to show Jade the respect that Jade craves.
Themes
Jade’s mind suddenly fills up. Mom had lots of dreams, E.J. is extremely confident, and Lee Lee wants to be a poet—but having dreams doesn’t mean they’ll come true. Jade knows that something happens during the day while she’s out of her mom’s house. Jade thinks that something happens when people tell her she’s pretty, and when she sees black men and women shot down on TV. She feels like she leaves home whole and comes home in pieces, but Mom’s love seems to repair her. Jade feels secure at home and as though her skin color isn’t a curse, and listening to the mentors, she believes she can prove negative stereotypes wrong. But she knows that she’ll shatter again and she wonders if that’s just what life is like for a black girl. Jade wonders if she can ever feel whole.
At home (and at Woman to Woman meetings), surrounded by people who love her, none of Jade’s various identities are bad or damaging. Instead, it’s the prejudiced outside world that causes problems for Jade. This makes it clear that people shouldn’t have to change their identities in order to fit in or feel more whole; rather, in an ideal situation, the world should instead become more accepting of diversity and difference. The idea of shattering, however, suggests that putting her identity together is a difficult process, in part because the world is prejudiced and discriminatory.
Themes
