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Chapter 30
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
The next day, Maleeka is back in school: Miss Saunders asked her to meet before school started. When Maleeka arrives, Charlese is there too, looking very afraid. Miss Saunders again asks Maleeka to tell the truth. Charlese tells Maleeka not to say anything, explaining that that if she’s is kicked out of school, JuJu will beat her up. Charlese also says that if she gets in trouble for Maleeka, Maleeka will have to move to another neighborhood. Miss Saunders just lets Charlese talk, and she puts her arm around Maleeka.
Charlese indicates that much of the fear she instills in Maleeka stems from her own fear about JuJu beating her up. This again suggests that much of Charlese’s bullying stems from her own fears and insecurities, even as she tries to take advantage of Maleeka’s insecurities.
Themes
Maleeka thinks about the boys who tried to kiss her, about the ones she saved John-John from, and about Akeelma. Then, Charlese calls Maleeka an “ugly, stupid, black thing.” Maleeka hears Akeelma’s voice in her head, and she yells at Charlese that she’s not ugly or stupid. She says, “if you don’t like me, too bad ‘cause black is the skin I’m in!” She then confesses that Charlese, Raise, and Raina were the ones who pushed her to mess up Miss Saunders’s room, and she feels relieved. Charlese gives Maleeka a hard look, calls her and Miss Saunders, “two ugly-faced losers,” and leaves. Miss Saunders hugs Maleeka, and Maleeka feels safe.
In this moment, Maleeka draws on much of what has happened to her in the past year to overcome Charlese’s bullying. First, she knows that she has Miss Saunders’s support. Second, her writing about Akeelma empowers her to stand up to the injustice in her life. Third, buoyed by this support, Maleeka no longer feels insecure about the things Charlese tries to make fun of. By affirming that she isn’t ugly or stupid, and by embracing her Blackness, Maleeka is able to find new sources of self-esteem and put an end to Charlese’s bullying.
Themes
