The Skin I’m In

by

Sharon Flake

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Themes and Colors
Bullying and Insecurity Theme Icon
Self-Esteem, Support, and Friendship Theme Icon
Writing and Self-Expression Theme Icon
The Importance of Role Models Theme Icon
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 Theme Icon

The Skin I’m In follows protagonist Maleeka Madison, a Black seventh grader at McClenton Middle School. Over Maleeka’s school year, other students bully her for her very dark skin; her tall, thin body; and her unflattering clothes. Yet while the bullies at school victimize Maleeka because of her insecurities, their behavior is motivated by their own anxieties. Students who are cruel to Maleeka, like Charlese Jones and John-John McIntyre, are often insecure about the very things for which they tease Maleeka. This suggests that bullies prey on their victims’ insecurities precisely because the bullies themselves are insecure.

As bullies Charles and John-John do with all their victims, they specifically attack Maleeka for her differences, thereby making her feel even more insecure and vulnerable. Maleeka reveals some of her insecurities in the first chapter of the book. She thinks, “It’s bad enough that I’m the darkest, worst-dressed thing in school. I’m also the tallest, skinniest thing you ever seen. And people like John-John remind me of it every chance they get.” Bullies like John-John—who makes up a mean song about how dark-skinned Maleeka is—understand Maleeka’s insecurities and make fun of those aspects in particular to make her feel helpless. Tired of being picked on, Maleeka resolves to befriend Charlese—the toughest girl in school—knowing that her power and influence could help get the other kids to stop being so mean. So, Maleeka makes a proposition: if Charlese agrees to hang out with her, Maleeka will do Charlese’s homework. Charlese agrees, but she continues to bully Maleeka despite now being “friends” with her. For instance, Maleeka usually wears ill-fitting clothes that her mom sews for her—one of the reasons she gets picked on at school—so Charlese supplies Maleeka with different clothes. But there’s a catch: if Maleeka doesn’t act the way Charlese wants, Charlese refuses to bring the clothes, thus preying on Maleeka’s insecurity as a way of tormenting and controlling her.

However, it becomes clear that the bullies in the book narrow in on their victims’ insecurities because the bullies themselves are insecure. For Charlese and John-John, making Maleeka feel bad is a way to make themselves feel better. While John-John makes fun of Maleeka’s dark skin and height, Maleeka notes that John-John is so small that most fifth graders can see over his head, despite his being in seventh grade. She also explains, “He’s my color, but since second grade he’s been teasing me about being too black.” Later, when Maleeka confronts John-John about why he teases her, he explains that on her first day at school in second grade, she didn’t want to sit next to him and opted to sit next to a popular boy with lighter skin named Caleb. In this way, Flake reveals that John-John’s taunting stems from his own insecurities over his worth and his Blackness—he ridicules Maleeka to avoid being made fun of himself. Charlese’s bullying also stems from her insecurities. One day, when Maleeka’s mom is able to buy her some new clothing and Maleeka comes to school very confident and excited, Charlese comments, “So your momma finally broke down and bought you some clothes.” Charlese’s comments suggest that she is jealous of Maleeka’s happiness and confidence on that day, which consequently implies that Charlese isn’t happy and confident herself. Charlese also worries about Maleeka getting positive attention from boys at school. When Caleb notices Maleeka and tries to go out with her, Charlese attempts several times to redirect his attention to herself instead, denigrating Maleeka in front of him. The fact that Charlese hates when Maleeka gets more attention than she does exposes her desperate need to be well-liked and in control of those around her, and Flake implies that this motivates Charlese’s bullying.

Because insecurity lies at the heart of bullying—it’s what bullies prey on and what motivates their behavior—overcoming one’s insecurities is the best way to prevent bullying. Miss Saunders, a new English teacher, provides a clear example of this. Miss Saunders has a white streak across her face “like somebody tossed acid on it”—most likely due to a skin condition called vitiligo. When Miss Saunders arrives for her first day and tells Charlese to get to class when she’s lingering in the hallway, Charlese insults Miss Saunders and says, “I sure ain’t looking at that face forty-five minutes every day.” But Miss Saunders stands her ground, refusing to be bullied, and finally gets Charlese to go to class. Later, Miss Saunders explains that she learned to love her face when she was young. Because she isn’t insecure about it, she can’t be bullied for that insecurity. By the end of the book, aided by Miss Saunders and other friends, Maleeka gains a new sense of confidence in herself and refuses to remain friends with Charlese because of all the abuse she’s taken. When Charlese calls her an “ugly, stupid black thing,” Maleeka says, “I am not ugly. I am not stupid. I am Maleeka Madison, and, yeah, I’m black, real black.” Maleeka’s ability to love her dark skin and overcome her insecurities empowers her to stop accepting Charlese’s bullying. Maleeka also tells John-John that she didn’t avoid him in second grade because she wanted to sit next to Caleb, but rather because she had trouble seeing the board. Later, Maleeka helps save John-John from some boys who are beating him up, and he stops making fun of her as a result. Because Maleeka no longer makes John-John feel insecure about himself and instead tries to lift him up, he doesn’t feel the need to bully her anymore. This suggests that, when bullies overcome their insecurities, they no longer feel the need to denigrate others.

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Bullying and Insecurity Quotes in The Skin I’m In

Below you will find the important quotes in The Skin I’m In related to the theme of Bullying and Insecurity.
Chapter 1 Quotes

The first time I seen her, I got a bad feeling inside. Not like I was in danger or nothing. Just like she was somebody I should stay clear of. To tell the truth, she was a freak like me. The kind of person folks can’t help but tease. That’s bad if you’re a kid like me. It’s worse for a new teacher like her.

Related Characters: Maleeka Madison (speaker), Miss Saunders
Page Number: 1
Explanation and Analysis:

John-John McIntyre is the smallest seventh grader in the world. Even fifth graders can see over his head. Sometimes I have a hard time believing he and me are both thirteen. He’s my color, but since second grade he’s been teasing me about being too black. Last year, when I thought things couldn’t get no worse, he came up with this here song. Now, here this woman comes talking that black stuff. Stirring him up again.

Related Characters: Maleeka Madison (speaker), Miss Saunders, John-John McIntyre
Page Number: 3-4
Explanation and Analysis:

It’s bad enough that I’m the darkest, worst-dressed thing in school. I’m also the tallest, skinniest thing you ever seen. And people like John-John remind me of it every chance they get. They don’t say nothing about the fact that I’m a math whiz, and can outdo ninth graders when it comes to figuring numbers. Or that I got a good memory and never forget one single, solitary thing I read. They only see what they see, and they don’t seem to like what they see much.

Related Characters: Maleeka Madison (speaker), Miss Saunders, Charlese Jones, John-John McIntyre, Maleeka’s Mom
Related Symbols: Clothes
Page Number: 2-3
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 2 Quotes

Charlese, she’s crazylike. Next thing I know, she’s telling Miss Saunders to mind her own business. She says something about her face. Worm’s telling Char to cool it. He’s dragging her down the hall with his hand covering her big mouth. The new teacher don’t know when to quit. She tells Worm to hold on a minute. Then she says her piece. She’s letting Charlese know that she’s traveled all over the world, and there’s nothing Charlese can say about her face that she ain’t heard in at least four different languages.

Related Characters: Maleeka Madison (speaker), Miss Saunders, Charlese Jones, Worm
Page Number: 7-8
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3 Quotes

Char says the dress would look perfect if I had some hips and boobs to go with it. Char blows a fat ring of stinking gray smoke in my face. I laugh, like everybody else. You got to go along with Char if you want to get along with her. You can’t be all sensitive. That’s what Char says.

Related Characters: Maleeka Madison (speaker), Charlese Jones, Maleeka’s Mom, Raise, Raina
Related Symbols: Clothes
Page Number: 12
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 4 Quotes

“Liking myself didn’t come overnight,” she says. “I took a lot of wrong turns to find out who I really was. You will, too.” Everybody starts talking at once, asking her questions. Miss Saunders answers ‘em all. Some kids even go up to her face and stare and point. She lets them do it too, like she’s proud of her face or something.

Related Characters: Maleeka Madison (speaker), Miss Saunders (speaker), Charlese Jones
Page Number: 19
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5 Quotes

At school, everybody’s staring at me. Even John-John’s doing a double-take. When I walk into class, all eyes is on me. Char’s the only one that’s got something negative to say.

“So your momma finally broke down and bought you some clothes. About time,” she says, as soon as we get to Miss Saunders’s class.

Related Characters: Maleeka Madison (speaker), Charlese Jones (speaker), Miss Saunders, John-John McIntyre, Maleeka’s Mom
Related Symbols: Clothes
Page Number: 22
Explanation and Analysis:

Day in and day out Kinjari eyes me, staring like he sees the sun rising in my eyes. I want to ask him why he looks at me that way. Am I something so beautiful he can’t help but stare? I keep quiet. Beauty is where one finds it, my father used to say. […]

I was sick, bad, for a long while. When I woke up, Kinjari was gone. Dead. “He had the mark. The pocks,” the girl chained to me said, sucking her front teeth like they was soup bones. “The slavers tossed him over the side,” she said.

But this one, she steals my food. Can I trust her with the truth? I don’t know.

Related Characters: Maleeka Madison (speaker), Akeelma (speaker), Miss Saunders, Charlese Jones, Caleb Assam, Kinjari, Maleeka’s Dad
Page Number: 26
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8 Quotes

I didn’t plan it that way. I just froze, I guess. The school is so big. So clean. So fancy. And them girls…they looked like they come out of a magazine. Long, straight hair. Skin the color of potato chips and cashews and Mary Jane candies. No Almond Joy-colored girls like me. No gum-smacking, wisecracking girls from my side of town.

That didn’t bother Sweets none. She says she deserves to be in that school as much as anyone.

“You got the right color skin,” I said, poking her fat tan face.

“It’s not about color,” she said. “It’s how you feel about who you are that counts.”

Related Characters: Maleeka Madison (speaker), Charlese Jones, Caleb Assam, Sweets
Page Number: 39-40
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12 Quotes

“New clothes, huh?” he says, trying to be smart.

I stop walking and turn to him and ask real smart like, “Why you always picking on me?” I ain’t sure what’s come over me. I guess thinking about Akeelma makes me wonder why people treat others like they’re nothing.

“Chill, Maleeka,” John-John says, strutting down the hall alongside me. He gets quiet, and I hear his big sneakers squeaking every time they hit the floor.

Related Characters: Maleeka Madison (speaker), Charlese Jones (speaker), John-John McIntyre (speaker), Maleeka’s Mom, Akeelma
Related Symbols: Clothes
Page Number: 61
Explanation and Analysis:

He says something stupid-crazy. Says it was back in second grade when I first moved to the Heights. I walked into class that first day with my new pink polka-dotted dress on and black patent leather shoes. The teacher told me to sit in the desk next to his. I said I didn’t want to. I wanted to sit in the one up front, next to Caleb.

“That half-white punk,” John-John says, knowing full well Caleb ain’t mixed.

Now my mouth’s hanging open. “I didn’t even know Caleb back then,” I say. “I wanted to sit up front, ‘cause I couldn’t see the board,” I explain. […]

“No matter,” he says. “You given me plenty of reasons not to like you since then. Thinking you super-smart. Acting like you too good for me.”

Related Characters: Maleeka Madison (speaker), Caleb Assam (speaker), John-John McIntyre (speaker), Charlese Jones
Page Number: 62
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 13 Quotes

The class gets so quiet, it’s scary. “I was ten years old and brushing her teeth, feeding her oatmeal like a baby. She cried all the time. Last year, she finally came to. Got up one day, went and bought a sewing machine, and started making clothes. Ain’t never sewed nothing before. Just started, day and night, sewing.”

Some kids at the back of the room start to snicker and make smart remarks. Shut up, I’m thinking. Just shut up.

“The more she sewed them clothes, the better she got. She started picking up after herself. Got a job and all. No, ain’t nothing good come from loving somebody so much you can’t live without ‘em,” I say. “No good at all.”

Related Characters: Maleeka Madison (speaker), Maleeka’s Mom, Maleeka’s Dad
Related Symbols: Clothes
Page Number: 70
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 18 Quotes

Mostly I’m thinking and writing in my diary—our diary, Akeelma’s and mine. Lately it’s hard to know where Akeelma’s thoughts begin and mine end. I mean, I might be starting off with her talking about how scared she is with the smallpox spreading around the ship and killing people. Then I end up the same paragraph with Akeelma saying she’s scared that maybe people will always think she’s ugly. But I’m really talking about myself. I’m scared people will always think I’m ugly.

Related Characters: Maleeka Madison (speaker), Caleb Assam, Akeelma, Kinjari
Page Number: 91
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 24 Quotes

At midnight, if you have eyes to see
There’s beauty and there’s majesty.

Char don’t understand what’s going on with me. She looks at me and calls me stupid, the way I’m smiling to myself.

Related Characters: Maleeka Madison (speaker), Charlese Jones, John-John McIntyre
Page Number: 127
Explanation and Analysis:

“Listen up, Maleeka,” Caleb says, grabbing hold of my arm, and whispering in my ear. “Your girl Char is whacked. You better stay clear of her before she ends up taking you down with her.”

“Char and me are friends,” I say quietly.

“Yeah, right,” Caleb says, shaking his head. “Char’s the kind of friend that will get you locked up or shot up,” he says, walking away.

Related Characters: Maleeka Madison (speaker), Caleb Assam (speaker), Miss Saunders, Charlese Jones
Page Number: 129
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 25 Quotes

“This ain’t right,” I whisper.

Char grabs hold of my hand, and says, “Do it, or I ain’t never gonna bring you no clothes.”

I shake my head. “No.”

“You protecting Miss Saunders?” Char wants to know. “You protecting that hussy? Why? She don’t like you, neither. All the time making a fool out of you in class. You stupid girl. Do like I say or I’ll do something to mess you up.”

Related Characters: Maleeka Madison (speaker), Charlese Jones (speaker), Miss Saunders, JuJu, Raise, Raina
Related Symbols: Clothes
Page Number: 135
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 31 Quotes

“All I done for you,” Char says. “You gonna leave me out to dry like this. Wait till later, you ugly, stupid black thing.”

Call me by my name! I hear Akeelma say, and I scream it out, too. “Call me by my name! I am not ugly. I am not stupid. I am Maleeka Madison, and, yeah, I’m black, real black, and if you don’t like me, too bad ‘cause black is the skin I’m in!”

Related Characters: Maleeka Madison (speaker), Charlese Jones (speaker), Miss Saunders, Caleb Assam, Akeelma, Maleeka’s Dad
Page Number: 157-158
Explanation and Analysis: