The Jacket

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2001

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-6

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Symbols & Motifs

The Jacket

The jacket is the titular object of the story, and it represents the book’s major theme of The Danger of Making Assumptions. From the moment Phil first sees Daniel wearing the jacket, Phil assumes the worst, and his assumptions cause Phil to question himself. The jacket itself could have been any object—the item itself doesn’t matter. More important is the relationship Phil and Daniel have to the jacket, as well as how the jacket brings them together and bridges a gap caused hidden racial bias. To Phil, the jacket is special. He knows his family isn’t rich and doesn’t have luxuries like those at his grandmother’s home. Phil’s mom brought the jacket back from Italy for him, and Phil prizes it. When he sees someone he doesn’t know wearing it, he lashes out because he hates the idea that something special to him was taken. Phil’s unique relationship with the jacket informs his reaction and contributes to him accusing Daniel of being a thief.

Phil’s relationship to the jacket also keeps him from seeing how Daniel views the jacket. Phil is so caught up in the significance that the jacket holds for him that he doesn’t see how Daniel receiving the jacket as a gift from his grandmother makes it special to him, as well. When Phil accuses Daniel of stealing the jacket, Daniel takes this as an attack on both himself and his grandmother. Daniel didn’t steal the jacket, and he is angry at the idea that someone would suspect either he or his grandmother would do such a thing. Daniel also doesn’t want to consider the fact that his grandmother might have stolen it without his knowledge and is mad that these thoughts even cross his mind. In Chapter 6, we learn that Daniel’s father is enrolled in college, so the family is living with Lucy to save money.

Neighborhoods

Phil’s and Daniel’s respective neighborhoods play important roles in Phil’s character arc, and both represent Blackness as “Other.” In Chapter 3, Phil sees his own neighborhood through the new lens of his bias. Before, he never considered that his neighbors were mostly white, and things like security systems were just part of life. When he becomes aware of his bias, Phil tries to understand why only white people live in his neighborhood, and he is unable to find a solution that isn’t related to racial divides. The appearance of his neighborhood once deceived him into thinking that it is just the way life is, but once his mind is opened to the reality of division, he realizes that his all-white neighborhood does not reflect all neighborhoods.

When Phil makes the journey to Daniel’s neighborhood in Chapter 6, he is surprised to find it is like his own. Instead of primarily white people, the people in Daniel’s neighborhood are primarily Black. In addition to the historic effects of red lining, some people tend to gravitate toward others who share their appearances, experiences, and other qualities, a process known as affinity bias. Both Phil’s and Daniel’s neighborhoods fall to this type of bias, showing the universal nature of human thought patterns. Between Phil and Daniel’s neighborhoods, Phil finds a less nice part of town where people of various races live. This shows that similarities are not the only factor in deciding where to live and that not all people share the same strength of affinity bias.

School

Phil’s school plays an important role both in establishing Phil’s character and in helping Phil work through his biases. At the story’s opening, Phil is stressed because he’s running late, needs to find his brother, and has a math test later that day. These concerns show that Phil worries about things that are typical for a 12-year-old boy—his grades and staying out of trouble. This also shows that Phil isn’t inherently or overtly racist; biases and prejudices are not necessarily the product of obsessive hatred. Rather, Phil’s “normal” concerns for a kid his age show that bias and prejudice are rarely the focus of someone’s thoughts, which is both positive and negative. The positive side of Phil not recognizing his bias is that he isn’t actively hateful. The negative side is that his hidden biases allow him to treat others unfairly, such as accusing Daniel of stealing the jacket. However, from this negative aspect, Phil is forced to confront his biases and grow, which he does partly by thinking about a normal day at school. He starts to wonder about the kids he doesn’t know much about and considers if there are other biases he holds that he doesn’t know about. This shows Phil thinking critically about how he views the world and about whether beliefs he’s never questioned are true, and such introspection is an important first step toward recognizing bias and working to overcome it.