This quote strikes at the heart of Melinda's pain and isolation. Melinda says this as she is standing in the auditorium, watching each of the girls who used to be her best friends sit with their new friends. She sees each of the friends in their new social group and doesn't seem to consider it much of a loss, but once she gets to Rachel, she feels especially hurt and alone. Melinda notices that Rachel looks different right off the bat, because she's wearing clothes that didn't come from the East side mall. This makes her seem like a stranger to Melinda. She won't even look Melinda in the eye, instead looking at something above her left ear. Melinda thinks about all the experiences that she shared with Rachel-Brownies, swimming, confiding in Rachel about her parents-and this makes Melinda feel the urge to tell her what really happened that night.
"Rachel and every other person I have known for years continue to ignore me. I'm getting bumped a lot in the halls. A few times my books were accidentally ripped from my arms and pitched to the floor." (pg. 14)
Two weeks into the school year, and people have been bumping in to her and knocking her books down accidentally. Melinda knows that it isn't an accident but she figures that it will go away soon so she isn't dwelling on it. At school Melinda is hated for calling the police at a summer rave because she was raped. All of the kids ignoring her , bullying her, and she is being shunned by her friends. In the quote she mentions Rachel participating in the bullying in the halls. I think that is because Rachel is her best friend and is the only one who Melinda really cares about being hated by.
"Rachelle is with me in the bathroom. She changed her name. Rachelle is reclaiming her European heritage by hanging out with the foreign exchange students. After five weeks in school she can swear in French. She wears black stockings with runs and doesn't shave under her arms." (pg. 20)
This takes place when Melinda attempts to talk to Rachelle in the bathroom. Melinda automatically notices her appearance. She first calls her Rachel, but then she realizes that she changed her name. Kind of showing a way of distance between the two. Rachelle hangs out with the foreign exchange students, swears in French by the 5th week of school, wears black stockings, and doesn't shave under her arms. All of these things show how much Rachelle has changed, how much distance there is between Melinda and Rachelle and how the friendship seems to be lost. In spite of all of this, Melinda tries to talk to Rachelle but has to hard at controlling her anger and hurt. This to me shows that even though Rachelle has changed, Melinda still can't let go of the friendship.
No comments:
Post a Comment