Chapter 7 Analysis:
Re-read the extracts from Chapter 7 on slides 41 – 45 again and answer these questions:
What does the author reveal about Mia Warren in Chapter 7?
– In Chapter 7, the author revealed that Mia understands Izzy on a very different level from her own mother or anyone else in her life. Mia understands that Izzy’s nonconformity stems from her empathy for others and her desire to stand up for what she believes, and this is often what Mrs. Richardson suppresses. This draws the two together and leads Izzy to admire Mia for her willingness to encourage her to take a stand against injustice. Izzy has previously not been encouraged to behave subversively, and Mia’s take on her suspension underscores how much the two women have in common.
How are we meant to respond to her as readers?
– As the audience, since we have learned a different side in Mia’s personality, further in the story, I believe that readers will often see her as a foil to Elena Richardson’s actions and interactions (especially with Izzy) in the following chapters.
How does she contrast with Elena?
– She contrasts with Elena in the sense that Mia is a working-class black single mother, while Elena is a wealthy suburban white mother with a traditional nuclear family. Additionally, their ways of interacting with children are also very different. As the author says in the novel, it is “a suggestion, not command” when Mia handed the bread to Izzy. However, Elena Richardson often commands her children to dress a certain way or to tie their hair a certain way, without giving them much room to change, their personalities are different. Thus, this is the contrast between Mia and Elena.