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
The white girl on the bus again the next morning. A few stops later, a man gets on the bus blaring music out of his cellphone. He sings along badly. Jade and the girl exchange a look, and then the man stands right in front of the girl and starts to sing to her. Jade motions to the girl to come sit with her. They burst into laughter when the man gets off the bus and then they introduce themselves. The girl’s name is Sam and she lives in Northeast Portland. Jade shares tips about school and teachers, and Sam asks for tips about lunch. Jade says that she eats in the cafeteria but she leaves out that it’s part of her scholarship. Sam starts to say that she eats in the cafeteria too, but Jade cuts her off before she can finish. She invites Sam to join her for lunch today.
Jade understands right away that when Sam mentions the cafeteria, it’s because she gets free lunch too. This means that although the girls may live in different parts of the city and have different skin colors, they still share something important: their poverty. This is the factor that jumpstarts their friendship, which suggests that having something like this in common is what brings people together to begin with. However, it remains to be seen whether this will be enough to keep the girls together as friends.
Themes
