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
Jade repeats the bus directions to her house to Sam and she agrees to meet her at the stop, though she wants to tell Sam to not come if she doesn’t feel safe. Sam isn’t on the first bus that arrives, and for a moment, Jade assumes the worst: Sam will make the news for going missing and for months, and people will tell girls to be careful. No one will tell men not to rape and kidnap women. Sam’s death would be a tragedy, but no one will talk about the black and Latinx girls who die here. But Sam gets off of the next bus and Jade takes her to a shop. The owner, Frank, gives Jade extra JoJos and chicken, asks after Mom, and then gives her the food on the house. Lee Lee walks in, greets and hugs Jade, and then greets Sam.
In this situation, Jade is very aware of how the difference in skin color between her and Sam would change what happens if one of them goes missing. Though they’re both female—and therefore, they’re both at a greater risk of violence like she describes—Sam’s skin color means that people will feel sympathetic toward her, while Jade’s disappearance might not even make the news. This sort of thing is one of the reasons why Jade feels so defeated at times: it’s exhausting to know that society sees girls like Sam as inherently more important.
Themes
After Lee Lee buys some food, the girls all walk back to Lee Lee’s house, where she lives with her cousin Andrea. Their cousin Kobe is there too, and both Andrea and Kobe treat Jade like a celebrity. They all eat Jade’s chicken and JoJos and then they talk about their different schools. They tease Jade about her love of language and then Lee Lee says the only thing worth mentioning at Northside is the poetry club. It’s not official, but their English teacher, Mrs. Baker, lets them use her room. Sam says it sounds cool, but Lee Lee brushes this off. Sam points out that no teacher at St. Francis would allow that—they’d want it to be a formal thing with no freedom.
When Jade compliments Lee Lee’s poetry, it shows again that she already understands the power of language to express ideas and change how people think. That Lee Lee is clearly getting an education in how to use her voice from Mrs. Baker speaks to the positive aspects of Northside. While Northside is making an effort to teach students like Lee Lee to use their voices, Jade recognizes that St. Francis is making her feel as though she must be silent and take what’s given to her.
Themes
After an afternoon of listening to music, Sam calls Mr. Franklin to let him know she’s on her way. Lee Lee and Jade walk Sam to the bus stop and Lee Lee struggles to hide her surprise when she learns that Sam was born in Portland and that she lives in Northeast. After Sam gets on the bus, Jade shares with Lee Lee what Mrs. Franklin said about North Portland. Lee Lee laughs and she says that white people are crazy—Northeast is still sketchy, and North Portland is getting whiter by the minute. They laugh.
What Lee Lee describes here is casual racism—Mr. Franklin (possibly unwittingly) seems to believe that because North Portland is historically black, it’s therefore less safe than Northeast Portland. Though it’s unclear if Sam shares her grandfather’s views or if she’s just calling to appease him, this leaves open the possibility that Sam, too, holds racist beliefs.
Themes
