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83 pages 2 hours read

Sarah Weeks , Gita Varadarajan

Save Me a Seat

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2016

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Part 4Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 4: “Thursday: Macaroni and Cheese”

Chapter 26 Summary: “Joe”

Joe realizes that he has missed the start of school when he wakes up with sunlight streaming through his window. He runs downstairs to find his parents sitting at the kitchen table. Joe asks what’s going on, and his mom admits she got someone to cover for her at school. After prodding, Joe greets his dad, who is unshaven after being on the road. Joe’s mom gets him breakfast: “Usually on school days, I eat a couple of bowls of cereal and a smoothie in the morning, but my mother has made huevos rancheros” (138). Joe receives a large helping but has lost his appetite and asks about a family meeting. His parents evade the question, and his dad asks about Dillon. His mom advises Joe talk to Dillon, which his father scoffs at. Joe’s dad goes on a tirade about immigrants, but Joe says Dillon was born here. Joe’s father criticizes Joe’s mother for babying Joe, and Joe says this wouldn’t be a problem if his mom had stayed out of his business like she promised. Joe’s mom starts crying and asks why Joe never mentioned Dillon’s bullying. Joe maintains he can handle it himself, but his father discusses calling the principal. Joe loses his cool and starts talking about all the things he hates, referencing how he hates that his dad doesn’t like people who are different—like Joe. His father is confused, and so Joe explains just how much he hates how everyone treats him like he is dumb, which is why he hates Dillon, because Dillon never lets him forget it. Joe throws his breakfast away and goes into his room.

Chapter 27 Summary: “Ravi”

Perimma finds Dillon’s drawing in Ravi’s backpack and demands Ravi explain. Ravi is confused because he has never seen the drawing before. After Amma comes in, Ravi explains that the drawing is of Joe, but they are not friends; they just sit together, and Ravi’s acquisition of the drawing is accidental. Amma asks Ravi what is going on, but Ravi can’t bring himself to explain all of the terrible things that have happened to him. Amma squeezes Ravi’s shoulder, causing him to cry out. Amma is horrified when she finds the bruise, and Ravi lies and tells her he just bumped himself. Perimma is furious and demands that she accompany Ravi to school, so she can find out for herself what is going on. When Ravi protests, Perimma accuses Ravi of being ashamed of her and then dramatically says that she and his grandfather will leave. Amma tries to calm her down, but Perimma accuses Amma of poisoning Ravi’s mind against Perimma. Ravi yells at them to stop. He announces he’s not going to school, and when they ask if he’s sick, he instead states: “’I’m finished with Albert Einstein Elementary School forever. I quit’” (149). 

Chapter 28 Summary: “Joe”

Joe’s mom brings a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to his room. Joe says he’s not hungry. Joe’s mom goes to work, explaining that his father is downstairs: “After she leaves, I come out from under my pillow. I look at the sandwich, but I’m not really hungry. All I want to do is go back to sleep so I won’t have to think about anything” (151). Joe gives some of his sandwich to his dog, then finishes reading Bud, Not Buddy. Joe eats his sandwich and regrets missing mac-and-cheese at school. Still hungry, he thinks about going downstairs but doesn’t want another lecture from his dad, so he gets started on his schoolwork. Joe remembers the personal reflection assignment he has to do but has no idea what object encapsulates him. As he’s thinking, his dad slides a note under the door. Joe reads his father’s apology three times, which talks about what a great son Joe is. Joe knows what he’s going to use for the assignment.

Chapter 29 Summary: “Ravi”

Ravi drinks Ovaltine in his living room while his father and Perimma tell him that quitting school is not an option. Amma rubs some ointment on him to relieve the pain in his shoulder and sends him to bed. Ravi thinks sleep is an excellent way to escape his problems but wakes up in the afternoon haunted by dreams of Miss Frost talking about assumptions. Ravi goes downstairs and his mother feeds him. Perimma rushes him along, saying he needs to catch up on his assignments, especially the personal reflection assignment. But Perimma says that she and Amma got supplies to complete the assignment while Ravi slept, as well as some more mechanical pencils. Perimma criticizes Ravi for being careless with his possessions and Amma for being too soft on him about losing them. Ravi admits that he forgot about the personal reflection assignment. At first, he assumed it would be easy, but now he is “no longer the same person [he] used to be. I am Curryhead, a loser who can’t speak English and has no friends” (157). Amma and Perimma show Ravi all the shiny things they have bought, covering a whiteboard with intricate details and pictures with shining borders that illustrate Ravi’s successes. Perimma is so proud but Ravi feels sick and starts crying, talking about how he is a failure. Perimma reassures Ravi that everything will be fine and leaves. Amma asks what is wrong, and Ravi finally tells her everything that happened. Amma tells Ravi not to worry, but Ravi no longer believes that she can help. Ravi’s grandfather, Perippa, tells Ravi to come with him because he has an idea that may help Ravi.

Part 4 Analysis

The fourth section is the shortest of all the sections in the novel. Unlike the other sections, the fourth section does not take place primarily at school but rather in Ravi and Joe’s respective homes. In this way, the narrative is only bifurcated in terms of time, as the plot of the narrative completely splits Ravi from Joe and vice versa. This split acts as a kind of isolating mechanism: both boys feel as though they are utterly alone within their own emotional pain. Both Ravi and Joe must deal with the ways in which they feel different from other people who they do not think will understand them. Joe does not feel like his father understands his condition, whereas Ravi does not feel as though his mother and grandmother will understand what a failure he has turned into in American school. Interestingly enough, this sense of loneliness actually helps bind the disparate narratives of the boys together, as both undergo similar feelings at the same time. In a twist of dramatic irony, both Joe and Ravi believe that no one understands how they are feeling, but the audience knows that each of them could understand one another if only they just took the time to try. This realization on the part of the audience then paves the way for the budding friendship that is seen in the final section.

However, this friendship can only take place after the silence that both of these boys have appropriated is broken. They must learn how to communicate their thoughts and feelings in order to throw off the burden of loneliness and become friends with one another. Joe is the first character who realizes that silence no longer suits him; even though he prefers silence, he realizes that other people—like his father—will not be able to understand him as a person if he does not communicate with them. During the family meeting, Joe finally explodes and tells his parents exactly what he thinks about his relationships with them, specifically focusing on the things that they do that bother him and/or he does not agree with. In contrast, Ravi’s communication comes a little later and is essentially forced out of him by his mother’s insistent prodding. Even though Ravi seems to like to speak, he cannot bring himself to admit to his family the ways in which he feels like he has failed them. This contrasts with Joe’s revelations to his mom and dad, which delineate the ways in which he feels like they have failed him. However, both Joe and Ravi develop stronger relationships with their family after breaking their respective silences, demonstrating that communication represents the key to healthy relationships. 

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