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Chapter 7
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Hate Race, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Racial Discrimination in Australia
Racism, Childhood, and Loss of Innocence
Race and Beauty Standards
Injustice and Complicity
The Power of Words
Summary
Analysis
Maxine waits for her skin to turn completely white, but months go by, and her skin remains patchy. The appearance of her skin gives her classmates new ammo to bully her with, and they begin to call her “Patch,” the name of a classmate’s dog. Cleopatra begins to apply her own foundation to Maxine’s face every morning, which temporarily hides the vitiligo—but the foundation often melts or rubs off during the day, causing Maxine to get grimy brown patches on her uniform and many of the things she touches, giving her a reputation of being “dirty.” Although she complains to teachers and monitors, they simply tell her to stop being so sensitive and ignore the bullies. Eventually, her complexion evens out somewhat, to her simultaneous relief and disappointment.
As Maxine’s vitiligo progresses, the racist bullying she faces worsens. The harassment she faces begins to escalate: rather than the simple insults like the ones she got from Carlita Allen, her classmates now actively dehumanize her by comparing her to a dog. Cleopatra’s attempt at rectifying the vitiligo also worsens things, as the foundation’s tendency to rub off on things allows those around her to bring up the stereotype of Black people being dirty. Worse still, the adults in the school are completely complacent, blaming the issues on Maxine’s “sensitivity” rather than her classmates’ racism.
Active
Themes
In the second grade, many of the children play Catch and Kiss, in which the girls have to run from the water fountain to the playground without getting grabbed and kissed on the cheek by the boys. Although Maxine has never been a fast runner, she is inexplicably excellent at Catch and Kiss, which is a great point of pride for her. However, one day she notices that all the other frequent “winners” of Catch and Kiss are considered ugly or gross by the other students, causing her to doubt herself. As a result, she decides to make a beeline for her crush, Lewis, and pushes her cheek against his lips. This prompts disgust from Lewis and the other children, and Maxine realizes that she isn’t fast—it’s just that nobody wants to touch her. She goes to hide in the bathroom.
