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JuJu
Kinjari is a fictional character in Maleeka’s writing assignment for English class. Like Akeelma, Kinjari is traveling to the U.S. on a slave ship in the 17th century. Just as Akeelma parallels Maleeka’s life, Kinjari represents Caleb. Kinjari often stares at Akeelma, prompting her to wonder if she’s beautiful. Later, Kinjari disappears, and Akeelma worries that he’s dead until she reunites with him on the ship later. Likewise, Caleb thinks Maleeka is beautiful despite the fact that she often believes she’s ugly—and even though he chooses not to hang out with her at the beginning of the book, he later reveals that he still likes her. In another story, Kinjari assures Akeelma that he would rather be a slave with her than be free by himself. And in the end, in another parallel, Caleb tells Maleeka that he still likes her—even though he knows that when they hang out together, other students will tease him.
Kinjari Quotes in The Skin I’m In
The The Skin I’m In quotes below are all either spoken by Kinjari or refer to Kinjari. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 5
Quotes
Day in and day out Kinjari eyes me, staring like he sees the sun rising in my eyes. I want to ask him why he looks at me that way. Am I something so beautiful he can’t help but stare? I keep quiet. Beauty is where one finds it, my father used to say. […]
I was sick, bad, for a long while. When I woke up, Kinjari was gone. Dead. “He had the mark. The pocks,” the girl chained to me said, sucking her front teeth like they was soup bones. “The slavers tossed him over the side,” she said.
But this one, she steals my food. Can I trust her with the truth? I don’t know.
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Chapter 18
Quotes
Mostly I’m thinking and writing in my diary—our diary, Akeelma’s and mine. Lately it’s hard to know where Akeelma’s thoughts begin and mine end. I mean, I might be starting off with her talking about how scared she is with the smallpox spreading around the ship and killing people. Then I end up the same paragraph with Akeelma saying she’s scared that maybe people will always think she’s ugly. But I’m really talking about myself. I’m scared people will always think I’m ugly.
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Get the entire The Skin I’m In LitChart as a printable PDF.
Kinjari Quotes in The Skin I’m In
The The Skin I’m In quotes below are all either spoken by Kinjari or refer to Kinjari. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 5
Quotes
Day in and day out Kinjari eyes me, staring like he sees the sun rising in my eyes. I want to ask him why he looks at me that way. Am I something so beautiful he can’t help but stare? I keep quiet. Beauty is where one finds it, my father used to say. […]
I was sick, bad, for a long while. When I woke up, Kinjari was gone. Dead. “He had the mark. The pocks,” the girl chained to me said, sucking her front teeth like they was soup bones. “The slavers tossed him over the side,” she said.
But this one, she steals my food. Can I trust her with the truth? I don’t know.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 18
Quotes
Mostly I’m thinking and writing in my diary—our diary, Akeelma’s and mine. Lately it’s hard to know where Akeelma’s thoughts begin and mine end. I mean, I might be starting off with her talking about how scared she is with the smallpox spreading around the ship and killing people. Then I end up the same paragraph with Akeelma saying she’s scared that maybe people will always think she’s ugly. But I’m really talking about myself. I’m scared people will always think I’m ugly.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
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