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 says that she’s learning to speak. This will give her “a way out” and “a way in.” Jade introduces the reader to the Spanish word for succeed, tener éxito. She says she thinks it’s ironic that the word “exit” is in it. It seems like the universe is telling her that she has to leave home in order to make something of her life. To a degree, Jade is already doing this: she’s been attending St. Francis High School on the other side of town for the last two years, though she begged Mom to let her attend Northside, the neighborhood high school. Mom refused, insisting that St. Francis is a “good opportunity.” Jade knows that this means the high school is white and expensive. Fortunately, Jade received a full scholarship.
Jade’s tone when she describes St. Francis indicates that she isn’t as excited about so-called opportunities as one might think, since those opportunities may come with unforeseen and potentially uncomfortable consequences. The idea that Jade has to leave her neighborhood and commute to the other side of town in order to attend St. Francis opens up the possibility that it’s very different from what school might be like at Northside.
Themes
The night before Jade starts her junior year, she tries to pick out an outfit. She bought some new clothes with money she earned over the summer tutoring at the rec center and saved what she didn’t use; Mom refused to take it for groceries. Mom comes into Jade’s room and sadly says that she won’t be able to see Jade off in the morning. Jade explains that Mom used to work as a housekeeper at a local hospital, but she was fired when someone reported her for stealing blankets and small bottles of shampoo. Now, Mom takes care of a rich old lady named Ms. Louise. Jade knows what’s coming: the talk about Jade’s lack of friends at school. Mom is concerned that Jade is only friends with Lee Lee.
Everything that Jade says about working to buy her clothes and Mom’s last job signals that her family doesn’t make a lot of money. In this sense, Jade is on her own to get some of the items she needs to be successful at St. Francis. This shows that even opportunities that might come free to Jade have hidden costs—even if it’s just the cost of clothes that allow her to fit in. The fact that Jade is expecting Mom to lecture her about friendship likely means that this is an ongoing issue for Jade, suggesting that she has trouble fitting in with the other students at St. Francis.
Themes
Jade can’t tell Mom that she and Lee Lee think the same things are funny. Jade can’t share knowing looks with anyone at St. Francis—most things she finds ridiculous are normal there. Once, her humanities teacher asked the class to name “invisible people” in their community. One girl mentioned her housekeeper, and Jade couldn’t believe the girl had one. Even stranger was when everyone else nodded along, including the only other black student in class. Jade goes to school with kids whose mothers hire housekeepers, while Mom is a housekeeper—Lee Lee would get it. Mom, however, says she’d like Jade to make one close friend at school this year and then she reminds Jade that she has an appointment with Mrs. Parker tomorrow. She thinks it must be about the study abroad program.
This experience in class made Jade uncomfortably aware that she’s the only person at St. Francis who doesn’t come from a family that can afford to hire domestic help—or, at the very least, other students in Jade’s situation are trying just as hard as Jade is to hide it. The fact that Jade doesn’t feel like she can connect with any of her classmates because of their socioeconomic disparities suggests that in her mind, there are some differences that are insurmountable when it comes to friendship.
Themes
For the first time ever, Jade is excited to talk to Mrs. Parker, her guidance counselor. The study abroad program is a service learning program in a foreign country and it’s what made Jade agree to go to St. Francis. Jade explains that Mrs. Parker always offers her opportunities, such as essay writing classes, free SAT prep, or speaking engagements downtown. Jade knows that Mrs. Parker is looking out for her, though she sometimes wishes she could turn down the opportunities. But because Jade is black and poor, she has to take every opportunity. Mom leaves Jade’s room and she asks if Jade needs anything at the store. Jade mentions that she put ice cream on the list. Mom laughs that she thought that was E.J., Jade’s 20-year-old uncle and she promises to try if she has enough money.
Jade is aware that while Mrs. Parker may think she’s doing nice things for Jade, these kindnesses still make Jade uncomfortably aware that she is poor and black while her classmates are wealthy and (presumably) predominantly white. In other words, these opportunities look at Jade only as a poor black girl, not as someone who’s also a dreamer, who wants to go abroad, and who’s already doing very well for herself, regardless of her circumstances. Jade demonstrates her discomfort in part through her tone, which conveys that speaking to Mrs. Parker is often a trying and demeaning experience.
Themes
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