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Chapter 7: Get a Grip, Man
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Flipped, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Perception vs. Reality
Family and Identity
First Love
Integrity and Growth
Summary
Analysis
After Bryce confronts Juli about the eggs and the state of her yard, she starts noticing things she’d never thought about before: her parents’ beat-up cars, their secondhand belongings, the fact that they never took vacations. She wants to ask her parents if they’re poor but worries it would hurt them. At dinner one night, she offers to clean up the front yard herself, but her parents remind her it is Mr. Finnegan’s responsibility, their landlord’s. This stuns Juli; she hadn’t realized they didn’t own their home.
Juli’s new awareness of her family’s economic status reflects just how deeply Bryce’s words affected her. What she once accepted as normal now feels inadequate. Her reactions in this section point to the beginning of a more nuanced understanding of her family’s position in the world, as she gradually realizes that love and effort don’t always translate into appearances that others respect.
Themes
Juli finally tells her parents that the Loskis were afraid to eat her eggs because of the condition of their yard. Embarrassed, Trina begs Robert to do something about it. The conversation shifts to Uncle David, Juli’s intellectually disabled uncle whom they rarely mention in front of her. Trina suggests it might be time to move him into government care, but Robert disagrees. Later, they both remind Juli about the importance of family and “counting your blessings.” She goes to sleep feeling grateful for having loving, hardworking parents.
The Bakers’ talk about Uncle David reveals the depth of familial loyalty in Juli’s home. Trina admits that managing his care is hard and suggests they get government help, but Robert chooses dignity and active support over the easier option—the one Rick may have chosen had Bryce been born with a similar disability. Juli takes in these values, even while feeling embarrassed by what Bryce’s family has said about her own. Her dad’s reminder shifts her focus from what her family doesn’t have to what they do—the love and support that hold them together.
Themes
The next day, despite her parents’ objections, Juli begins tackling the front yard herself. At first, the work feels overwhelming, but soon Bryce’s grandfather, Chet, stops by to offer his help. Over the next few days, they work side by side. Juli tells him about Bryce’s comments and the egg situation, and Chet confides that she reminds him of his late wife, Renée, who was just as strong-willed. He also reveals that he was engaged to another woman when he fell in love with Renée. He encourages Juli to look beyond appearances and pay attention to who someone really is on the inside—and she suspects he’s talking about Bryce.
One afternoon, after Chet has gone home, Bryce comes over while Juli is still working in the yard. He apologizes for the cruel things he said and for throwing away her eggs. Juli tries to follow Chet’s advice, looking past Bryce’s blue eyes and even his apology to see if he truly means the words he speaks. She forgives him, more or less, but she feels unsettled afterward. That night, she goes to bed with the odd sense that someone is watching her, only to realize it’s herself watching her—like she’s seeing herself for the first time from a distance.
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