Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Out of My Mind, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Disability and Ability
Language, Communication, and Identity
Acceptance vs. Rejection
Family
Summary
Analysis
When she gets home, Melody goes straight to bed and cries into her pillow. Butterscotch tries to comfort her but nothing helps. Melody doesn’t understand why the team didn’t invite her to breakfast, and why they didn’t call her to tell her what had happened. She wishes she could stomp on something, but she can’t make her body do anything.
The betrayal by Melody’s teammates is shocking. Although she suspected they didn’t fully accept her as a member of the team and as a friend, Melody still thought they knew that she was an asset and deserved to be there. Melody’s situation is extra frustrating because she cannot express her anger verbally or even physically.
Themes
Mr. Dimming calls in the evening, and Melody’s mom answers. She’s angry, and asks why they weren’t called. Mr. Dimming apologizes, tells Melody’s mother that Melody was the brightest person on the team, and he says he’ll make it up to her, but Melody’s mother makes it clear there’s no way he can make up for leaving her behind. After hanging up, Melody’s mother holds her in her lap and rocks her softly to comfort her.
Although Mr. Dimming understands how important Melody is to the team, he still didn’t make an effort to make sure she was at the competition. Although his acknowledgment of her abilities is a breakthrough, it is too little too late. Melody’s relationship with her family is the only comfort she can find in this moment.
Themes
