Melinda feels isolated from her room. The bedroom represents her younger self, who she was back in fifth grade. She does not relate to the surroundings in her room. Melinda notes that she used to love roses and the color pink, which surround her room; however, she cannot relate with them anymore. By noting that her room belongs to an alien, Melinda reveals that she does not associate herself with who she was in the past. Therefore, Melinda’s statement represents her coming of age because she is growing up and going through many changes. She feels like the room belongs to someone else. Moreover, Melinda’s feelings of alienation are driven by the fact that she no longer has friends at school and that her best friend will not talk to her.
Melinda's description of her room serves as an illustration of her isolation, one of the main themes of the book. Wherever she goes, and whatever she does, Melinda feels like an alien, like she doesn't belong anywhere. Even her own bedroom feels completely strange to her. For most people, a bedroom is a haven of comfort, peace, and security. And that's how it used to be for Melinda. But that was then, this is now.
The bedroom is a snapshot of who she was in the fifth grade before she was sexually assaulted. It's a symbol of a more innocent time in Melinda's life, a time when she thought that roses should cover everything and that pink was a great color. Since her terrible ordeal, Melinda has changed; profoundly so. But the decor of her bedroom hasn't and so she feels alienated from her immediate surroundings. Melinda is as isolated from her old self—as represented by her bedroom—as she is from everyone else in her life.
No comments:
Post a Comment