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Chapter 3
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 is late to Miss Saunders’s class that morning. Everyone has already started writing in response to a prompt on the board, “What does your face say to the world?” Maleeka writes three sentences before she has to hand her paper in. Miss Saunders asks Maleeka to share what she thinks, but Maleeka stays quiet. John-John says that his face tells the word that people better respect him, but Maleeka thinks that his face is more scared than mean.
Maleeka again notes some of John-John’s underlying vulnerability. John-John thinks that his face says not to mess with him, which aligns with his pattern of bullying. However, Maleeka recognizes that John-John is actually afraid, and that his bullying stems from his own insecurities about being perceived as small and weak.
Themes
Miss Saunders asks what her own face says to the world. Maleeka, annoyed that Miss Saunders has embarrassed her twice already, says that Miss Saunders’s face tells the world that she’s a freak. Miss Saunders says that she used to see her face that way, but gradually, she grew to love her face and accepted herself. Miss Saunders then explains that her face says she’s smart, sexy, confident, caring, and sometimes cold. Miss Saunders’s confident attitude excites the students.
Miss Saunders again models good behavior for her students. Rather than letting Maleeka’s comments get to her, Miss Saunders shows the kids her self-confidence. She doesn’t need others to think she’s beautiful in order to accept herself, demonstrating that true self-esteem comes from within.
Themes
Then, Miss Saunders tells the kids more about herself: she works at an advertising agency downtown. A few months ago, her company came up with a program that lets professionals take a leave of absence for a year to teach in inner-city schools—and Miss Saunders always wanted to teach. Miss Saunders then hands out a test, explaining that she wants to figure out what the students do and don’t know; they won’t be graded for it. When John-John asks why they have to do it if it won’t be graded, she replies, “Because I say so.”
Miss Saunders demonstrates how important teaching and improving her students’ lives is to her, as she gave up a high-paying job in order to come to McClenton. She also demonstrates that she doesn’t just want to take a passive role and automatically give her students good grades; instead, she wants to make sure that they’re actually learning and achieving their potential.
Themes
