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
It’s almost morning, and Jade hasn’t slept. She decides to make another collage about York based off of what Clark wrote in his journals: that many Native Americans were fascinated by York’s skin color, hair, and size. Some tribes thought he was magic, and some didn’t believe him when he said that he was just a black man. York joked with children and told stories about how he was a scary, evil being. Jade wonders how York felt at night. She wonders if he could remember existing in a place where nobody thought he was strange—if he remembered feeling human.
The way that Jade talks about how York was turned into a legendary monster offers clues as to how she feels at St. Francis. At St. Francis, people (like Ms. Weber) seem to think of Jade as scary and evil, too, and Mrs. Parker doesn’t always treat Jade as though Jade is a real person with thoughts and feelings. This all makes Jade feel less human. But at night, at home, she can remember that she is human and that there are people who love her.
Themes
