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Chapter 10
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Skin I’m In, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Bullying and Insecurity
Self-Esteem, Support, and Friendship
Writing and Self-Expression
The Importance of Role Models
Summary
Analysis
Maleeka explains that it’s a bad idea to make the school lunch ladies angry—but today, Charlese is mouthing off to them. And sure enough, there’s lettuce in Charlese’s milk, dried food on her fork, and something indistinct on her hamburger bun. Maleeka offers Charlese her bologna sandwich, but Charlese refuses. She tells Maleeka to take her tray back and ask for another plate. When Maleeka hesitates, Charlese threatens to beat her up if she doesn’t do it.
Even though Maleeka hangs out with Charlese for protection and friendship, Charlese is cruel to Maleeka. Thus, Charlese contrasts with people like Desda or Caleb who genuinely want to support Maleeka and be her friend.
Themes
Maleeka picks up Charlese’s tray, gets back in line, and tells Miss Brown, one of the lunch ladies, what the problem is. Miss Brown says that she’ll take the food back, but not from Maleeka, and Charlese starts yelling from across the room. Maleeka takes the food and tries to scrape off the bun, adding ketchup and mustard to it. When she returns to the table, Charlese tells her to get lost.
Maleeka continues to take abuse from Charlese because of her own insecurities about being made fun of. She is desperate to be accepted by others, and yet her “friendship” with Charlese leaves her feeling abused as well.
Themes
Maleeka leaves the table and sits next to Desda to eat her bologna sandwich. While she’s eating, Caleb comes over and says that he needs to talk to her. When Maleeka gives him the excuse that she and Desda are busy going over homework, Caleb says that he’ll talk to her later. Before he leaves the lunchroom, Charlese tries to stop him, but he doesn’t pay her any attention and keeps walking. Desda then actually asks Maleeka about the math homework, and Maleeka shows her how to do it, explaining that it’s easy.
In contrast to Charlese, Caleb and Desda are there to support Maleeka—but she’s so worried about being made fun of that she basically ignores the people who are trying to boost her confidence. Charlese’s behavior toward Caleb also illustrates how her bullying is motivated by her own insecurity. The more attention Caleb pays to Maleeka, the more Charlese tries to sway his attention to herself and denigrate Maleeka, because Charlese is jealous of her.
Themes
Toward the end of lunch, Charlese leaves, surrounded by boys. Raise comes to ask Maleeka for her, Raina’s, and Charlese’s math homework. Maleeka gives it to her, but she lies that she didn’t have time for the social studies paper—even though she has the paper in her bag. When Raise leaves, Desda tells Maleeka that she shouldn’t do anything for them. Maleeka responds, “yeah, right.”
Even though Maleeka is still doing Charlese’s and the twins’ homework, she is also starting to gain more confidence in herself and rebel against their abuse, as demonstrated by the fact that she doesn’t give them their social studies homework. Maleeka understands that it’s not fair for them to abuse her and then expect her to do their assignments, even though she goes along with this arrangement most of the time.
Themes
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