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
Later that afternoon, Maleeka’s mom sends Maleeka to pick something up at the corner store. There, Maleeka runs into John-John. He makes fun of her for being suspended, and he also says at least Maleeka is keeping her mouth shut about it—squealing on her friends isn’t cool. Suddenly, some boys crowd around the two of them—they’re after John-John because he told on one of them for shoplifting. They start beating John-John up, and though he tries to put up a fight, it’s three versus one.
The novel again illustrates how John-John’s bullying stems from his own insecurity. While he makes fun of Maleeka for being suspended and makes a comment about not squealing on her friends, John-John himself is then attacked for speaking out about someone else’s crimes.
Themes
When John-John falls on the ground, Maleeka grabs a branch from a nearby bush and smacks the boys with it. The boys surround her and close in on her, but then she hears a group of adults coming over. The boys let Maleeka go and run away. Maleeka sees Caleb with the group of adults, who have brooms, bats, and a shovel. Caleb helps John-John up. Maleeka thinks that John-John is always making fun of her, but she saved him today.
In the previous chapter, Maleeka wondered whether she’d become any stronger or braver—and this passage proves that she has. In contrast to the earlier incident when two boys attacked her on the street, here Maleeka runs toward danger to defend John-John, rather than running away from it. And in saving John-John, Maleeka proves that she’s not trying to make him feel insecure, as he thought she was—rather she’s trying to lift him up and help him. Similarly, Caleb’s arrival signals his own desire to support Maleeka.
Themes
When Maleeka gets home, her mom already knows what happened with John-John. She also tells Maleeka that a letter arrived from the library, informing Maleeka that she won the writing contest. Maleeka shows her mother the letter, and they start crying together. Maleeka knows that they both wish her dad could be here for both the good and the bad events.
Maleeka’s winning the competition is a testament to both the newfound power of writing in her life and Miss Saunders’s positive influence. Thanks to Miss Saunders’s mentorship, Maleeka is able to feel proud of her writing talent, which boosts her self-esteem.
Themes
