Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Piecing Me Together, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Intersectionality, Identity, and Discrimination
The Power of Language
Mentorship, Opportunity, and Dignity
Friendship
Summary
Analysis
After school, Jade goes to Sam’s house for the first time. As soon as they get off the bus, Sam starts issuing warnings about her grandparents’ eccentricities, especially those of her grandmother, Mrs. Franklin, who has Alzheimer’s. Jade doesn’t ask why Sam lives with her grandparents and she’s happy to eat at Sam’s since she knows there won’t be much at home later. Sam leads Jade to a small house, opens the door, and then shouts that she’s home so they don’t scare Mrs. Franklin. Mrs. Franklin doesn’t look away from the TV, so the girls head into the kitchen. Mr. Franklin greets Jade, and when Jade shares that she lives in North Portland, Mrs. Franklin shouts that there are only “hillbillies, blacks, and Mexicans” live there and that it’s a good thing there are so many shootouts—they’ll all kill each other. Sam is enraged.
Jade’s desire to eat at Sam’s house again shows how she’s learned to alleviate her food scarcity every chance she gets. Though Jade seems to think it’s respectful to not ask why Sam lives with her grandparents, it’s also worth considering that sharing these things about each other would help the girls deepen their bond and strengthen their friendship. Such strengthening might be necessary, given Mrs. Franklin’s racist outburst. This situation can’t be comfortable for Jade, even if she sees that Sam doesn’t think the same way her grandmother does.
Themes
Mr. Franklin calms Sam down and he shares that he’s lived here for 40 years, and their neighbors have been here for 20. Mrs. Franklin shouts that the neighbors are black as Jade tries to imagine what it’s like to live somewhere that long. Mr. Franklin talks about all the changes in Northeast Portland and he says it’s part of life, but Jade knows people who had to move out of the area. They either couldn’t afford the taxes or didn’t own their homes, and according to Mom, people who don’t own have no power. Sam leads Jade to her bedroom. Jade is shocked that Sam has a bed, a futon, a TV, and her own bathroom. They start working through Jade’s Spanish vocabulary flashcards.
What both Mr. Franklin and Jade are thinking about is gentrification, the process of wealthier people moving into a lower-income neighborhood and driving up the cost of living. This is something that it seems like Mr. Franklin has been able to weather for the most part. Jade’s peers, however, weren’t able to sit it out because they didn’t own their homes and therefore they didn’t have much power over what happened to their neighborhoods. Mom draws a clear link between home ownership and power, which tells Jade that if she wants to be able to live like Mr. Franklin one day, she needs to amass as much wealth as she can.
Themes
A bit later, Mr. Franklin knocks and he gives Sam the phone. It’s Sam’s mom. Jade tries to ignore Mr. Franklin as Sam talks briefly and then hands the phone back to Mr. Franklin. He frowns and tells Sam’s mom that Sam is a teenager and she doesn’t know how to show her emotions. Sam apologizes to Jade and assures Jade that there’s nothing else to say to her mom; her mom will call in a month for Sam’s birthday. Jade is shocked, but Sam says that her mom didn’t want to be a mom anymore and so she left Sam with her grandparents. Sam says it’s better here anyway. Instead of studying, the girls talk about their fathers and about how difficult it is to be at St. Francis.
Jade is so shocked by the revelation about Sam’s mother because, in her experience, Mom is one of the people who will always be there for her. That it’s so hard for her to wrap her head around Sam’s experience shows that Jade is battling some of her own prejudices that keep her from being an entirely empathetic friend. Despite this, the conversation the girls have does help them deepen their relationship and get to know each other better.
Themes
Sam shares that her older brother seems happy for her that she’s attending St. Francis, but he’s also sad and jealous. Jade says she gets it—she sometimes feels bad about how many opportunities she now has and she feels like she can’t let her friends and neighbors down. Sam points out that it’s not fair for them to feel guilty for getting what they deserve, which shocks Jade. She’s never considered that she deserves good things, mostly because she knows lots of people who work hard and get nothing. Sam says it’s weird being stuck in the middle. She doesn’t talk to St. Francis kids about her life and she doesn’t talk to her friends about school. Jade suggests that now that they’re friends, it won’t be so bad.
Though Jade doesn’t openly think of this conversation in terms of race, Sam’s belief that she deserves good things is likely a product of being white—while Jade’s belief that getting good things has more to do with luck reflects the particular struggles of being black and poor. In this sense, even though Jade and Sam connect through their poverty, they still think of their lives in very different ways. Further, those differences color how the girls deal with the opportunities they do get.
Themes
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