Writing About Writing

What is the main theme of this story? There are reviews that state that it is about rape, or simply about a teenager in high school, but what is the real underlying theme? I disagree with both these reviews. Yes, this girl is going through a lot of pain and suffering because of her rape, and is struggling to stay above drowning. She even says as she looks at the turkey floating in a pot, "I feel like the Titanic". There's no doubt that this book is about her struggle, but it's more central than that. It's about communication, or lack there of.

There are so many things in this story that allude to lack of communication. She can't talk to her friends first of all, because they don't want to talk to her because of what she did. They shut her out and ignore her, and eventually they all go their seperate ways. Heather simply is the talker, and she doesnt' even listen to Melinda or ask her oppinion. She is more concerned about her status and popularity instead of anyone else.

We see a lack of connection with people, because she labels them instead of using their real names. She can't/doesn't connect with her teachers, obviously, because she makes up names for the ones she doesn't like, such as Mr. Neck, Hairwoman, and Principal Principal. They have no significance in her life, and she feels like there's no way to connect so she just blocks them out. A huge image she uses is calling the boy who raped her "IT", instead of Andy. Nicknames in this easily allude to a disconnection.

There are little crosshairs throughout the book that illustrate miscommunication as well, such as the fight between Mr. Neck and David Petrakis. Mr. Neck made the mistake of bringing up a personal, racist issue in his classroom, and it blew up in his face. And instead of admitting that he was wrong, he just cut off the conversation when it started to take a turn for the worst. He didn't want to hear what the students had to say.

The only exception to the rule is Mr. Freeman. Ironically, we can look at his name: Free man. He paints pictures of what he thinks about the school counsel, and he voices his opinion constantly about his lack of supplies and support, (not unlike most art and music teachers). He does what he wants, and interestingly enough, he is the one teacher that gets through to Melinda, and helps her open up.

To me, communication is the real issue in this book. We need to let students know that there are outlets, and that they can go somewhere if they need to. The whole situation was based off of no communication, simply because she called the cops and didn't let them know what happened. I found an interesting outlet hotline that I think students would never even imagine calling unless they knew about it.