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
On the first weekend in December, Maxine drives Jade downtown to go to the art museum. Maxine tells Jade that she can’t touch the art, can’t take photos, and that they’ll have to talk quietly. Jade thinks that Maxine is acting like Jade doesn’t know how to behave in public. A few minutes into their time at the museum, Maxine’s phone rings: it’s Jon. Maxine steps outside to answer. Jade waits for 10 minutes and then Maxine tells Jade to go in alone. Jade wonders what Maxine and Jon have to talk about and why they have to talk whenever Maxine is with her. It makes Jade think that Maxine has nothing to teach her about loving herself and taking care of herself.
Maxine’s behavior does read as distinctly odd, which suggests that Maxine might be worried that Jade is going to embarrass her or make her look bad. This, in turn, means that Maxine might be participating in Woman to Woman to boost her own self esteem; she might not be involved because she’s passionate about actually helping Jade. This is an example of poor mentorship, as it makes Jade feel inferior and as though Maxine doesn’t respect her.
Themes
Jade sees another mentor-mentee pair taking photographs and she joins them when they invite her. Jade strays to look at the photographs and thinks that Maxine is being really rude. When Sabrina finds Jade and she says they’re going to do a reflection activity, Jade hides in the bathroom. She finds Maxine on a bench when she comes out. Maxine apologizes, says she had to have the conversation, and offers to take Jade to dinner. As they walk, Maxine asks Jade what she thought about the museum. Jade knows that Maxine wants to hear that it was a great time and not that Jade thinks Maxine is rude, so she says it was awesome. Maxine asks if any of Jade’s friends have been to the museum and she says that most people in North Portland stay in a bubble. At the restaurant, Jade wants to avoid a lecture on healthy eating so she orders salmon and arugula like Maxine.
The reader again gets to see what Jade would justifiably like to bring up. Avoiding this, however, shows that Jade still feels like there’s a power imbalance between her and Maxine. Jade doesn’t want to risk offending Maxine or looking ungrateful, and so she doesn’t think she can voice any of her hurt or concerns. The novel magnifies this by showing how Jade avoids an unwanted conversation about her food choices by ordering the same thing as Maxine.
Themes
After their food comes, Jade asks what Maxine meant that people in North Portland live in a bubble. Maxine explains that lots of people never leave their neighborhoods, and it upsets Jade that Maxine is talking about her friends like she knows them. Jade points out economic reasons why her friends might not get out much, but Maxine has lots of solutions: admission discounts, free days, and trips to Multnomah Falls. When Jade points out that if Mom had a car they’d have to be careful where they went so they could keep gas in it, Maxine laughs and she calls Jade a pessimist. Jade thinks that she’s poor and a realist. Maxine asks about Mom. Jade shares that Mom is working for Ms. Louise and another woman on the weekends, and Maxine looks at Jade with pity. Maxine suggests that Mom is lucky, but Jade doesn’t think so.
Maxine seems to imply that people in North Portland live in a bubble by choice—when in Jade’s experience, they live in a bubble because they don’t have the money to get out. Maxine’s unwillingness to listen to what Jade is saying is another example of her being a poor mentor. She doesn’t trust that Jade is the expert on her own life and she acts as though she can fix Jade and others in Jade’s community with ideas that seem fine on the surface—but as Jade points out, these ideas won’t work in practice. This also reveals Maxine’s privileged upbringing. If Maxine had any firsthand experience, she’d know that her ideas aren’t helpful.
Themes
Jade asks what Maxine’s mom does, and Maxine shares that her mom is a surgeon and so she wasn’t home much when Maxine was a kid. Jade then asks for the real reason Maxine wanted to participate in Woman to Woman. Maxine says that she wants to help and that she could’ve used someone to talk to when she was a teen. She asks Jade if she needs someone to talk to, but Jade doesn’t want to answer. She doesn’t want Maxine to think that Mom is a bad mother or that Jade is broken. Maxine chats on and she says that they’re going to grow and learn, but Jade asks how they’ll do that if Maxine keeps flaking out. Maxine apologizes and she asks for another chance.
Even if Maxine did grow up relatively privileged, she shows here that even well-off young people need someone to talk to and look up to. Mentorship is, in this sense, something that can help everyone, but this doesn’t mean that Maxine is an effective mentor yet. Jade doesn’t trust Maxine to actually be there for her or to understand that Mom loves and cares for Jade even if she has to work all the time. Because of Maxine’s own experiences, she doesn’t seem to understand how people can be good parents in different ways.
Themes
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