Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Skin I’m In, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Bullying and Insecurity
Self-Esteem, Support, and Friendship
Writing and Self-Expression
The Importance of Role Models
Summary
Analysis
Miss Saunders apologizes for being late, and then she sees that someone has drawn on the board. There’s a woman’s face on it: the left side is smooth and pretty, while the right side is cracked and drooping. Miss Saunders quickly erases the board quickly and then starts a discussion on Romeo and Juliet. Maleeka mumbles that no one wants to talk about this stuff. When Miss Saunders asks what they want to talk about, John-John says, “why Maleeka’s so black,” and Miss Saunders kicks him out of the classroom. Maleeka gets annoyed that Miss Saunders is making a big deal out of what John-John said. John-John forces out a fake apology, and Miss Saunders lets him stay.
Miss Saunders again proves that because she’s not insecure about her face, she’s not susceptible to bullying. In addition, telling John-John that she’ll kick him out for his comment sets a good example for the students of not tolerating any kind of bullying. Even though Maleeka feels that Miss Saunders is only making things worse, it sends a message to the other kids that bullying is unacceptable in Miss Saunders’s classroom.
Themes
The class continues to talk about Romeo and Juliet, and one boy named Jerimey says that it doesn’t make sense to kill yourself over someone you love, because you should love yourself most of all. He says that if you love yourself above everyone else, you’ll take good care of yourself, and you won’t try and make trouble because that’s just going to cause more problems for you.
Jerimey’s assessment of Romeo and Juliet ties back to the novel’s overall lesson about bullying. He emphasizes that having high self-esteem and being secure in oneself means that a person doesn’t have to make trouble for others. Conversely, bullying is rooted in insecurity.
Themes
Desda says that she wishes someone would kill themselves over her, because it’s romantic. Maleeka disagrees. She says when her dad died three years earlier, her mom fell apart. At 10 years old, Maleeka had to brush her mom’s teeth and feed her. Then, a year ago, her mom finally got up and bought a sewing machine. The more clothes she made, the happier she got. Maleeka concludes that nothing good comes from loving someone so much that you can’t live without them. The class is quiet until the bell rings.
Here, Maleeka goes into fuller detail about why she wants to make sure her mother keeps sewing: without it, she worries about her mom’s well-being. This highlights how, even though Maleeka’s mom wants what’s best for her, she doesn’t always model good behavior or take care of her daughter’s needs, and Maleeka is often forced to take on a parental role.
Themes
