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Chapter 1
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 doesn’t want to go to fifth period because she has to sit next to John-John, and all he’ll do is sing the song about her under his breath. When Maleeka goes to her locker to retrieve her coat, she sees Miss Saunders coming down the hall. Miss Saunders tells Charlese and the boy she’s kissing, Worm, to get to class. Charlese laughs at her and rolls her eyes, but Miss Saunders says that she’s the new English teacher and that Charlese can either get to class or go to the office. Charlese retorts that she’s not going to look at Miss Saunders’s face for a whole class period.
Here, Maleeka demonstrates the negative impact that the school bullies have on her. John-John harps on her insecurities so relentlessly that she tries to skip class in order to avoid it—something that will become a pattern for Maleeka. Additionally, just as Maleeka predicted, school bullies like Charlese also try to tease Miss Saunders because of her difference, just as they do with Maleeka.
Themes
When Miss Saunders again tells Charlese to get to class, Maleeka grows nervous because Charlese won’t appreciate Miss Saunders talking back to her. Miss Saunders says that she’s traveled all over the world, and there’s nothing Charlese can say about her face that she hasn’t already heard. Charlese then asks why Miss Saunders at McClenton, and Miss Saunders explains that she wants to give back to the school. Charlese says that, if that’s the case, Miss Saunders can give up her designer shoes and watch. Charlese’s older sister JuJu has been taking care of Charlese since their parents died two years earlier, and JuJu sells designer clothes at a big discount, so Charlese can recognize expensive clothing.
Even though Maleeka is nervous about how Charlese might treat Miss Saunders, here Miss Saunders immediately models good behavior. Because Miss Saunders has overcome any insecurity regarding her face, Charlese can’t bully her for that insecurity, and Miss Saunders is instead able to stand her ground. Meanwhile, the fact that Charlese’s parents died, and that her older sister JuJu takes care of her, also illustrates the need for good role models. Charlese’s lack of a stable parental figure is likely part of the reason she behaves badly.
Themes
Worm tells Charlese that they should get out of there, but Charlese stands her ground. Then Tai, the math teacher, interrupts, greeting Miss Saunders—they’re old college roommates. Tai tells the kids that Miss Saunders really makes things happen. Then, she tells Worm, Charlese, and Maleeka to get to class.
Tai’s statement that Miss Saunders really “makes things happen” hints at the enormous effort that Miss Saunders will make with her students—particularly with Maleeka—and the positive impact that she will have on those students because of her good role modeling.
Themes
