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Rhyme Schemer
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Pages 120-163Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of bullying and emotional abuse.
Pages 120-163 Summary
Note: These pages contain the poems “Thursday,” “Friday,” “Dinner,” “Friday Never Ends,” “Friday Never Ends. The Outside of the Restaurant Edition,” “Friday Rescue,” “Open Mic,” “Monday,” “Tuesday,” “Time Stands Still (AKA: Hartwick’s Office) ((Again)),” “Wednesday,” “Thursday,” and “Friday.”
On Thursday, Kevin finds a note from Robin on his desk. Robin had everyone in the class sign the note if they think Kevin is “a stupid loser” (120). Mrs. Smithton sees the note but barely addresses it.
That night, Kevin shuts himself into his room, throws his things on the floor, and buries his head in his pillow. Suddenly, he hears a familiar sound on the other side of the wall. He barges out of the room into the hall and is thrilled to hear Petey’s band singing his rhymes over their song. He has never felt happier.
On Friday, Kevin’s mother makes him dress up for the dinner with her boss. Kevin is irritated that he is missing the poetry night to wear a necktie to a fancy restaurant but tells himself he doesn’t care about poetry anyway. Still, he knows he is lying to himself.
At the restaurant, Kevin tries to behave himself, but Petey plays a prank on him. He dumps hot sauce onto Kevin’s French fries without him noticing, and Kevin takes a big bite, “choking and gasping / and spitting French fry chunks / everywhere” (126). He accidentally knocks over several cups of water into his mother’s boss’s lap, too. His mother is furious and demands that Kevin go outside and sit on a bench. Inside, she apologizes for Kevin’s behavior. Alone and embarrassed on the sidewalk, Kevin hopes that no one from school drives by and sees him. Then, a familiar car pulls up and rolls down its window. Kevin is relieved when he realizes it is Mrs. Little. She demands to know what’s going on and why he’s outside.
After Kevin explains the situation, Mrs. Little goes inside and confronts Kevin’s parents. She tells them how talented, smart, and wonderful Kevin is and how much he deserves to attend the poetry night with her. His parents are shocked into silence and then give Kevin permission to go. In the car with Mrs. Little, Kevin stammers out a thank you. He is stunned by all the nice things she said about him.
Kevin and Mrs. Little drink coffee and soda while watching the open-mic night. At first, Kevin feels strange being out with a librarian. He also doesn’t like the poets at first but soon realizes how good they are. After the event finishes, Mrs. Little introduces Kevin to one of the performers, who turns out to be her son.
On Monday, Kevin makes a found poem for Mrs. Little about the open-mic night. It was the most fun he’s ever had. The next day, things sour again when Robin and Giant John mercilessly attack Kevin at recess. Kelly throws herself into the fight, screaming and kicking Robin. Robin keeps hitting Kevin, who eventually fights back with all his might.
Kevin, Kelly, and Robin are all sent to the principal’s office. Hartwick blames the fight on Kevin, but Mrs. Little shows up and demands that Hartwick and Mrs. Smithton deal with the situation once and for all. She threatens to call the superintendent if they don’t step in on Kevin’s behalf, too. Threatened into silence, Hartwick finally makes the boys apologize to each other and demands that they stop fighting. At first, Kevin isn’t sure that he or Robin mean their apologies, but he realizes that he is somewhat sorry for his actions.
While Kevin is doing homework that night, one of Petey’s bandmates knocks on his door and asks if he has any more lyrics they can use. A flattered Kevin is even more delighted when the bandmate invites Kevin to come and listen to the band practice.
Back at school, Robin returns Kevin’s journal per Kelly’s suggestion. Kevin apologizes for everything, but Robin doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t respond when Kevin asks if he is sorry, either. Afterward, Kevin and Kelly start sitting together at lunch. Kelly even writes a poem for Kevin. Kevin realizes that she has always been cooler than he thought. He even notices how pretty her freckles are.
On Thursday, Kevin turns 13. He knows he has changed even if it doesn’t feel like it. He is thrilled when his parents and brothers all give him new notebooks to write more poems. Petey explains that the one from him is strictly for writing band lyrics. The next day, Paul walks Kevin to school and tells him how proud he is of him.
In the library, Kevin finds a gift from Mrs. Little in the poetry section: a book of all Kevin’s poems that she’s bound for him. Kevin is still helping her in the library even though he no longer has detention. He is thrilled when she reminds him of the next open-mic night and encourages him to perform. Kevin writes a new found poem, excited to share his work.
Pages 120-163 Analysis
In the novel’s final pages, Kevin’s changing home and school circumstances usher him along his personal growth journey. Throughout the novel, Kevin has struggled to find belonging, both in the context of his siblings and parents and in the context of his classmates and teachers. He has historically acted out—bullying others and misbehaving—to get the attention he craves. Since Kevin’s actions have primarily earned him only punishments and scoldings, he gradually learns that the best way to cope with his complex feelings is to share them with others and ask for help. In doing so, Kevin fosters new relationships with Paul, Mrs. Little, and Kelly, all of which grant him more confidence in himself and, thus, a more defined sense of who he is.
The narrative uses imagery and symbolism to further convey The Challenges and Rewards of Personal Growth, illustrating how Kevin has grown up over the course of the novel. One example is the coffee house open-mic flyer. Kevin uses this page to write a thank-you note to Mrs. Little, instead of to express derision or upset. He circles the words “best” and “night” on the flyer to tell Mrs. Little how much he enjoyed their outing and how thankful he is that she took him.
Another imagistic example of Kevin’s growth is the recurring image of notebooks. At the start of the novel, Kevin uses his poetry notebook to write slanderous, frustrated poetry about his bullying victims, his teachers, his principal, and his family. When Robin returns the notebook at the novel’s end, it is “[d]irty, / scratched, / torn in places” (152). The marks on the notebook mirror the emotional wounds that Kevin has endured throughout the novel. Just as his notebook still has value to him, Kevin still has value in spite of, and even because of, what he has gone through. The notebook imagery recurs on Kevin’s birthday night, when his brothers and parents each give him a notebook. The new, unmarred, and blank notebooks symbolize a new chapter in Kevin’s personal life and creative endeavors. He can use the notebooks to write songs for the band, honor his new friendships, and commemorate his growth.
Another symbolic image of change is that of Kelly’s freckles. At the novel’s start, Kevin makes fun of her freckles by likening her face to a connect-the-dot page. At the novel’s end, Kevin realizes that her freckles “are not like connect the dots at all” and instead compares them to stars and galaxies (155). His altered impression of Kelly’s freckles shows how he is growing up. He is learning to show others more grace and see their perceived “flaws” as evidence of their uniqueness.
Kevin’s ability to apologize to Robin also proves that he has changed, while furthering the novel’s theme of The Causes and Repercussions of Bullying. At the start of the narrative, Kevin feels no remorse for teasing or attacking Robin and derives pleasure from hurting his classmate. By the end of the narrative, Kevin is able to acknowledge his unkindness and take ownership of his actions. In the “Wednesday” poem, Kevin tells Robin that he’s sorry when no one else but Kelly is present. No adult has instructed Kevin to apologize to Robin at that moment, which implies that he is asking for forgiveness of his own volition. Kevin can now identify when he has done something wrong and take responsibility for his actions. This moment ushers him into a new phase of his adolescence. Others may not always treat him kindly (just as Robin doesn’t apologize to him in return), but Kevin can take pride in his own ability to confess and make amends for his wrongs.
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