101 pages • 3 hours read
Sharon M. DraperOut of My Mind
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2010A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 19-21Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 19 Summary
Aside from studying, Melody begins to create sentences to preprogram into her computer, so she has ready answers to the questions that come up the most. Typically, she is asked what has caused her condition, and she gives the scientific response but adds, “It limits my body, but not my mind” (168). She even has a snappy comeback ready for people like Claire and Molly, where she says, “We all have disabilities. What’s yours?” (169). Mrs. V laughs hard when Melody shows her that sentence.
While studying with Mrs. V one afternoon, they watch a bird at the feeder. Mrs. V asks Melody what she would do if she could fly. Melody says she would be afraid she’d like it so much that she would fly away. Mrs. V insists that Melody is a bird, “And you will fly on Monday when you take the test” (169). Mrs. Brooks is incredulous about how much time and effort Mrs. V has put into preparing Melody for the test, but Mrs. V points out that she helps Penny in the same way and no one thinks anything of it. Mrs. Brooks insists that learning is harder for Melody, but Mrs. V states that it’s harder for everyone else because, “We have to figure out what’s in her head” (170). The group has cookies, and Butterscotch herds Penny away from running out the door to the car. Melody feels reassured that Mrs. V and her family believe in her but worries that no one else does.
Chapter 20 Summary
The Whiz Kids quiz team test is after school, and Melody nervously waits for it all day. She is so on edge that she spills tomato soup all over her shirt at lunch and is embarrassed about how she looks. Melody studies all day long, then Catherine helps her to Mr. Dimming’s room after school. When they enter, Melody is not greeted kindly, even by Rose. Claire claims that Melody can’t take the test because “She’s from the retard room!” (177) Melody ignores them and prepares to take the test.
Before the test begins, Mr. Dimming addresses Catherine, ignoring Melody as if she isn’t even there. He says he doesn’t think Melody should take the test, as it’s not a “recreational activity just for fun” (178). Melody uses her computer to say she is there to take the test. Mr. Dimming tries to discourage her, but Melody responds that she is tough and smart enough to take it. Rose stands up for her, and Catherine reminds Mr. Dimming that, by law, Melody cannot be excluded from the exercise. Catherine leaves the room so that no one can accuse Melody of cheating.
Before the test starts, Claire demands to know if Melody has the answers already stored on her computer. Rose mocks Claire for her ridiculous question, and then Mr. Dimming begins the test. For half an hour, Melody takes the test, calling it “the hardest, most exciting thing I’d ever done” (182). When she is done, Melody prints out her answers.
Mr. Dimming waits with the students until their rides home arrive. He tells Melody that he didn’t want her to take the test because “I was only trying to protect you from being hurt” (182). The history teacher doesn’t think that Melody is all that bright, and when she starts to drool, he says to her, “you might want to wipe your mouth” (183). Melody despises him for what he has said but thinks he must judge her by how she looks. Her mother arrives and thanks Mr. Dimming, but Melody just wants to get out of there and go home.
Chapter 21 Summary
In school the next day, all the students are talking about the test. In history class, Mr. Dimming begins by announcing the alternates; Melody is not among them, making her feel bad. Then he declares that the four team members are all from this class and include Connor, Rose, Claire, and Melody. Over the protests of the students, Mr. Dimming apologizes for underestimating Melody’s intelligence and abilities. She answered every question on the test correctly, something that he has never had happen.
When Claire complains that everyone will be staring at them, and they will “look weird” (189), Mr. Dimming reprimands her and says, “I’m very proud of Melody. I regret that I underestimated her, and I’m glad to have her on our team” (189). He tells the class he will contact the quiz officials about Melody’s circumstances. Melody is both overwhelmed with excitement and burning with embarrassment at the thought of being on television with people focused on her.
Chapters 19-21 Analysis
The mention of Butterscotch herding Penny away from the door at the beginning of this section foreshadows Penny’s dash for the car later in the book. We already know that Butterscotch has a knack for assisting Melody, so her caretaking of Penny suggests a danger that the Brooks’s aren’t yet aware of. Draper uses this subtext to create a growing sense of background tension—the plot has been so focused on Melody that Penny seems to be going unnoticed.
With the support of Mrs. V, Catherine, and her family, Melody diligently studies over the next week to prepare for the Whiz Kids test. She feels buoyed by the support from those who love her, but she is discouraged by the attitude of the outside world.
In this section, we see Mr. Dimming’s character change. At first, he is no better than Claire and is dismissive of Melody. He dehumanizes her, just as the psychiatrist did earlier, by speaking to Catherine instead of Melody. He makes her feel bad about her physical inability to keep from drooling or wipe her face, and he pities her, citing social consequences for her quiz team failure. It’s only after Melody once again proves herself to be extremely intelligent that Mr. Dimming changes his tune. He apologizes to Melody and dismisses Claire’s complaints. It’s telling that Mr. Dimming only allows Melody to take the test after Catherine points out that he would be guilty of illegal ableism if he doesn’t—this conversation points out the importance of such laws so that bias doesn’t inhibit the opportunities of disabled people.
While Melody presents as strong and confident, ignoring Claire’s slights before the test and insisting to take the test despite her teacher’s doubts, her fear of being on television betrays her self-consciousness. Though she longs for the same opportunities as everyone else, she’s well aware that she does not look like the other children and is embarrassed by proof of her physical handicaps, like the spilled tomato soup or drooling in front of Mr. Dimming.
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By Sharon M. Draper
