Twins

This section develops The Evolution of Sibling Relationships by showing the various social hardships that Maureen and Francine are currently navigating. Maureen worries that their relationship is changing for the worse, and she loses sight of the fact that some changes may be temporary. Fran’s deception towards Maureen, where she lies about the reason that their schedules are different, is rooted in The Search for Self-Identity, but she initially approaches this search in the wrong way and harms Maureen in the process. Likewise, instead of beginning her own search for self-identity in a healthy way, Maureen retaliates against Fran by secretly running for president and rejecting multiple opportunities to let her sister know about her choice. This section reveals the twins’ misguided belief that redefining themselves requires them to reject each other. Up until this point, their status as twins has overshadowed their individuality, and in the attempt to break free of this image, they inevitably suffer some interpersonal setbacks and hurt feelings. These shifting dynamics are designed to be relatable to any readers who have experienced sibling rivalry, and the added visual element of sharing the same facial features further accentuates the twins’ growing need to be different.

As their struggles unfold, powerful full-page and two-page illustrations show the changes in the twins’ relationship. Sometimes, the pictures that “speak” the “loudest” are the ones that are not accompanied by words, such as the two-page illustration of Maureen and Fran facing off in their bedroom after Fran reveals that she requested a different schedule from Maureen (72-73). Each girl is on a different page, facing each other and looking angry, wearing different-colored outfits; their fists are balled up and there are tears in Maureen’s eyes. All of these visual cues signal the widening gulf between the two sisters, for Fran’s initial attempt to assert her independence has resulted in a fight rather than a satisfactory search for her own identity. An equally emphatic illustration shows the effect of Maureen’s deceit on Fran’s feelings and the twins’ relationship, because as Mr. Wilson announces the candidates for student council, the girls are holding hands, but as soon as he announces that both twins are running for president, they let go, and the break in physical contact signifies the deeper rift in their relationship. The close-up illustration of the girls letting go of each other’s hands is accompanied by the simple words “twin against twin” (97), which emphasizes the competition they feel against each other and the distance that has been created by their mutual deception.

Maureen’s character develops further in this section as she embarks on her own search for individual identity. Although her choice to run for president against her sister is rooted in her resentment for Fran’s decision to pull away from her, this new goal also emboldens her and allows her to make positive progress in her social life. For example, instead of eating alone in the library, she joins her new friends Amber and Richard at lunch for the first time, and this scene shows an upswing in her confidence and illustrates her strengthening social skills. The full-page illustration of Maureen sitting and laughing with other kids in the cafeteria (103) provides a direct contrast to the equally emphatic illustration that showcased her initial fear of the cafeteria setting earlier in the story. Now, even though the new full-page illustration has no words, it is clear that Maureen is no longer alone and is finally hitting her stride.

In addition to the girls’ interpersonal adventures at school, the novel also introduces the broader social issues that beset them, for their forays into the mall prove that racism is a distinct problem in the twins’ hometown, even though this issue is not the central conflict of the story. At school, the twins have a diverse range of friends and classmates, and the school environment has shown no hint of racist bullying or racial tension. However, when Maureen and a group of Black girls are rejected by a white shop attendant who makes racist generalizations and assumes that they won’t buy anything, the issue suddenly leaps to the forefront of the narrative. The jarring nature of this incident is deliberate, for it echoes real-life settings in which people are simply going about their lives and are caught off-guard by such displays of racism. When the attendant dismisses the girls and chooses to help a white customer instead, this scene demonstrates that racism is still a problem even though the book’s main focus is elsewhere. The scene also implies that because the twins must face the effects of racism in everyday life, this issue also affects their other challenges, such as their search for personal identity and Maureen’s efforts to improve her self-confidence. The racist incident at the mall also illustrates that there are ways to protest injustices in the heat of the moment. When the white customer decides to boycott the store on the basis of the attendant’s behavior, this decision is designed to take a stand against racism on the individual level, even if the problem still persists at the societal level. At the very least, it lets the shop attendant know that her actions are unacceptable and it makes the girls feel somewhat supported. Ultimately, the narrative implies that the negative fallout from the incident detracts from the store’s reputation and causes it to go out of business thanks to word of mouth. This same logic can be applied to the girls’ other problems, for even if their relationship issues seem beyond solving, there are ways to repair their sisterly connection, even if those actions do not fix their relationship in one fell swoop.