The Theme of

My Favorite Chaperone

Made by: Vivek Waghray, Jonathan Haimowitz, Haley Adkins, Julie Curry, Andy Redder, Jessica Martin

CC.8.R.L.2 (or at least our part)

I will be able to determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot.

The theme of this story

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People can change

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It means that people can change, in a good way or bad.

How Setting affects the Theme

• My Favorite Chaperone's setting: America. Maya's family doesn’t know anybody else.
• This helps develop the theme because when they moved to America they were thrown into a completely different culture. This forced them to change and adapt to the ways of Americans.
• If the setting was not America but Kazakhstan instead, the theme would be very different. The challenges that Maya and her family faced were for the most part caused by the setting.

How Characters affect the Theme

Before Change:

Mama: Maya’s mother was overprotective and wants nothing more than to micromanage every detail of Maya’s life.

Papa: Maya’s father was strict, and believed that everything had to be his way, otherwise it was wrong or inappropriate.

Nurzhan: Maya’s little brother was self absorbed and had a hard time opening up.

Maya: Maya was focused on her problems and was very shy around others. She felt very secluded in life, as well as very alone.

After Change:

Mama: Maya’s mother is much more aware of Maya’s needs and wants and is more appreciative of all the work Maya does. Thus more willing to grant Maya a little more freedom.

Papa: Maya’s father was more open and willing to compromise by the end of the story because he realized that he should be able to trust his daughter…..to an extent.

Nurzhan: Nurzhan is more open and willing to be involved in the lives of others, because his sister Maya was willing to help him.

Maya: Maya feels more grounded in America, as if it’s actually her home. She is also more comfortable talking and being around her brother.

How Plot affects the Theme

Things happen along the way that cause people to go towards one area but after one point, they start to change, these events lead to the idea, “people can change”.

• Maya gets the slip but knows that her parents won’t sign it - This shows that Maya is slightly closed minded and that her parents wouldn’t really sign it.
• Nurzhan gets suspended - Maya was supposed to prevent this from happening but since she can’t/didn’t, her parents get upset with her. This event also makes it harder for Maya to convince her parents to let her go to the dance.
• Maya’s Dad sees Daniel with Maya and is displeased - This makes it even worse. Maya already didn’t prevent the suspension and on top of that, she is now seen by her father who thinks she is being raised as “a toy for American boys”. This also means it will be harder for Maya to go to the dance, since there will be American boys there.

How Plot affects the Theme (Part 2)

• Maya’s Mom hurts her leg - This is what triggers the change.
• Maya does her Mom’s job (cleaning houses every day) - Mama then realizes that Maya isn’t doing bad things and is trying to help the family.
• Maya has to cook and makes burnt chicken. Papa says “this tastes like my shoe!”. Mama defends Maya - This shows that Mama is now slowly starting to understand what Maya is going through and also starting to be more kind to Maya
• Nurzhan tries to get the dance slip signed (Papa signs it) - This shows that Nurzhan wants to help Maya (most probably because she protected him during the suspension scene) and more than that, Papa signed it. This could mean that he is also starting to change or possibly just that in Kazakhstan, the men always sign things.

How Plot affects the Theme (Part 3)

• Maya is given her mother’s bracelet - Mama explains that this bracelet was given to her when she went to her first dance but Maya’s dance is at a younger age. This could also possibly show that Mama is started to accept the fact that they live in America and things are done differently. Along with that, Mama might understand that Maya is growing up.
• Maya goes to dance (with Nurzhan) - She dances with her friends and Daniel. Nurzhan keeps himself busy by watching these boys playing in trash cans.
• Maya thanks Nurzhan - This shows that Maya and Nurzhan are getting closer and that they are showing a strong brother/sister bond. This shows that they have changed towards each other in a certain manner.

The End