Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

by

Judy Blume

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Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.: Chapter 22 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Margaret stays in her room in the morning. She starts to try to talk to God, but then remembers she’s not talking to him anymore. She figures that if he wants to “strike [her] down,” he can. But by afternoon, she’s bored and asks Mom to let her go to a movie with Janie. Margaret meets Janie at a drugstore near the theater. They’re early, so they go into the drugstore to check out the pad display. After a few minutes, Margaret suggests they buy some. She’s wanted to do this for a while but has been too afraid. Today she feels brave—God might be mad at her, but also, nothing happened when she crossed the street against the light.
Even if Margaret is angry with God and with religion in general, she shows here that she’s not ready to give it up altogether—her personal connection to God is still alive, even if she’s not on the best of terms with him. It’s also telling that in giving herself permission to not choose a religion, Margaret starts to feel braver and more in control. Now, she’s making choices based on what she wants to do, rather than what she thinks she must do to fit in.
Themes
Friendship, Fitting In, and Social Pressure Theme Icon
Religion Theme Icon
Janie is confused and is afraid her mother might be upset, but Margaret suggests they just don’t tell. This decided, they choose boxes of Teenage Softies and Margaret grabs a comb so it looks like she’s actually shopping. But when the girls see that there’s a boy at the cash register, Janie insists she can’t do it. As Janie is putting her box back, a saleslady asks if the girls need help. Margaret tells the lady they’d like to buy the pads, but the lady tells them to go buy them from the boy at the counter. Janie looks ready to cry, so Margaret picks up their boxes and dumps them in front of the boy. He says nothing as he takes her money and wraps the boxes up in two separate bags. Margaret is shocked; it’s like he sells pads every day.
This is an excruciating experience for Margaret and Janie. They’ve never purchased period supplies before, and the thought of basically telling the boy at the register that they have periods is too embarrassing to fathom. But, the boy’s reaction shows that Margaret is actually right: this boy probably does sell period products every day, and menstruating isn’t as big a deal for many people as it is for Margaret and Janie right now, at this point in their lives. It’s huge for them because it’s new, unknown, and scary.
Themes
Puberty Theme Icon
Friendship, Fitting In, and Social Pressure Theme Icon
Quotes
Mom asks about Margaret’s package when Margaret gets home, but Margaret says it’s school supplies. Margaret takes the bag to her room and stares at the box, hoping God is watching. She takes out a pad, stares at it, and goes to her closet. In her closet, she puts the pad in her underwear to see what it feels like. She likes the feeling and considers sleeping with the pad, but she decides it’s too risky—if there’s a fire, someone might find out. Margaret hides the pads in her desk drawer.
When Margaret notes that she hopes God is watching, it suggests that she sees trying out a pad as something she shouldn’t be doing. Really, trying the pad is pretty innocuous—and it also seems to help Margaret feel more prepared for when she actually needs one. Still, Margaret is self-conscious about simply owning pads, and she’s embarrassed at the thought of being found out (as unlikely as that is).
Themes
Puberty Theme Icon
Religion Theme Icon
In the morning, Grandmother and Grandfather share that they’re leaving for New York. Mom is aghast; they said they were coming for a week. Grandfather explains that they’ve decided to spend the rest of the week in the city. Margaret can see Dad smiling behind his newspaper, but she’s angry that her grandparents aren’t even staying when they ruined her trip to Florida. When Mom returns from dropping her parents at the bus station, Dad suggests that they probably always intended to go to New York but stopped in because “it was convenient.” Margaret points out that they ruined her trip, but nobody acknowledges her.
Mom and Dad weren’t trying to be mean when they canceled Margaret’s trip to Florida—they were trying to give her the opportunity to connect with her grandparents. But all Margaret can focus on is her canceled trip—showing that though she’s growing up, she’s far from mature. Margaret doesn’t fully grasp how upsetting this must be for Mom—Mom planned to host her parents for a week, in the hopes of showing them that she’s just fine. Now, the opportunity to prove them wrong is gone. 
Themes
Family Conflict Theme Icon
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