101 pages • 3 hours read
Out of My Mind
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Chapters 22-24Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 22 Summary
Melody is part of the Whiz Kids team yet separate from the other participants all the same. The practices take place after school until six o’clock, and although Melody often has the right answers to the practice questions, she cannot push buttons quickly enough on her computer to take part in the fast back-and-forth that occurs between the other members of the team.
Claire worries that Melody will impact the optics for the team, saying, “But she’ll look odd on TV” (195). Melody responds by saying that many people look funny on television, and Claire could be one of them. Connor cheers the comeback, making Melody happy. Even though she cannot participate in the quick discussions amongst her teammates, Melody listens to everything they say all the while wishing she could be more like them.
When Rose’s mom buys pizza for the class, all the kids dig in except for Melody. She cannot feed herself but is too embarrassed to admit it to any of the students. When her mom offers to buy her Pizza Hut on the way home, Melody says no.
Chapter 23 Summary
The day of the quiz competition arrives, and Melody nervously goes over the plan for how to get in and out of the television studio. She will get there earlier than everyone else so she can get comfortably situated before the crowd comes in. Catherine is also going with Melody; she informs Melody that the reporters on hand will want to talk to her because she is “a wonderful human-interest story” (199). Melody is just worried that they will make fun of her.
At the studio, Melody is surprised by how small everything looks and how much tinier the morning news reporter is in real life. She concludes, “Everything you see on TV is fake” (200). Paul, the stage manager, approaches Melody to get her settled for the competition. He wheels her over to a specially designed answer board for Melody to use. When she asks him how he knew what to do for her, Paul says, “My son is in a wheelchair” (202), and proceeds to encourage her to go out and win for his son.
As Melody awaits the start of the quiz, her teammates and the alternates file in behind her. Claire snidely remarks that Molly, an alternate, should be in the competition instead of Melody. Overhearing the remark, Melody tries to let it go, saying, “No way am I letting their negativity mess me up. I have enough to worry about” (203). Mr. Dimming arrives and checks on the team, and then they wait for the show to start.
Chapter 24 Summary
Mr. Kingsley, the moderator, begins the competition when the cameras roll. He informs the audience of the rules and levels. The two teams that score the highest out of all preliminary rounds will face each other in the final. The team that wins advances to the nationals in Washington, D.C. Mr. Kingsley then takes a moment to introduce Melody specially and explains her accommodations to participate in the event.
The test begins, and Woodland, the team Spaulding is playing against, trades leads with Spaulding throughout the quiz questions. Like the Spaulding team, the Woodland students make up for the weaknesses that some team members have in specific subjects through the strengths of others. When the first round ends, Spaulding has won 81 to Woodland’s 71.
Spaulding ends up as one of the two top scoring teams and qualifies for the final. They are facing off against Perry Valley, and Mr. Kingsley announces that the winning team will go to Washington, D.C. for the nationals, and have a chance to win the first prize consisting of a large trophy, an appearance on Good Morning America, and two thousand dollars for their school.
Chapters 22-24 Analysis
These chapters focus on Melody’s preparations for her part on the Spaulding Street Whiz Kids competitive team. She diligently dedicates herself to studying as much as possible, both by herself and with her teammates, but she cannot speak quickly through her computer and is not able to participate in the fast response discussions that her classmates are having. She wishes she could be like them—a common thought for Melody when she’s around her able-bodied peers. This section again shows Melody’s self-consciousness, as she worries about how she’ll look on television and pretends not to be hungry rather than pointing out that she can’t eat without help. Melody is embarrassed by her disability and doesn’t want her peers to know the extent of her reliance on others.
The day of the competition, Melody arrives at the television studio early so she can be set up ahead of time for the test. She receives encouragement from her family, Catherine, the stage manager, and the moderator for the event. Although she doesn’t get that same support from her team, she sets their animosity aside and focuses on the quiz.
The discussion with Paul, the stage manager, suggests that Melody is a voice for the disabled. Just as Draper is using Melody’s first-person perspective to challenge here readers’ biases, Paul is asking Melody to challenge the perspectives of the audience in the novel. Paul asks for the sake of his son, and this perhaps parallels Draper’s motivation, as she is the parent of a disabled daughter.
When the competition begins, Spaulding battles it out with Woodland and earns a spot in the final round against Perry Valley. The prize includes a trip to the nationals in Washington, D.C., a trophy, a national television appearance, and a monetary reward for the school.
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By Sharon M. Draper
