The Red Pencil

Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | Middle Grade | Published in 2014

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapters 1-32

Part 1, Chapters 33-79

Part 2, Chapters 80-112

Part 2, Chapters 113-145

Part 2, Chapters 146-180

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Part 2, Chapters 146-180Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 2: “Kalma”

Part 2, Chapters 146-163 Summary

This section covers Chapter 146: “Love,” Chapter 147: “Guzzling,” Chapter 148: “Fanta Flute” Chapter 149: “Halima, Profile,” Chapter 150: “I Wish,” Chapter 151: “Leap,” Chapter 152: “Anthill,” Chapter 153: “Envy” Chapter 154: “Tug-of-War,” Chapter 155: “Opinions,” Chapter 156: “Muma Blooming,” Chapter 157: “Talking to Sayidda Moon,” Chapter 158: “Possibilities,” Chapter 159: “Directions,” Chapter 160: “Sudanese Flowers, Reborn,” Chapter 161: “Bursting,” Chapter 162: “I Am,” and Chapter 163: “Up, Up, Me.”

Old Anwar brings Amira a new treat, a bottle of orange Fanta. This time, Amira only drinks half, leaving the rest for Leila and Gamal. The younger children unexpectedly share it between themselves without squabbling, leaving the final sip for Amira. Amira forms an “O” with her mouth and blows on the empty soda bottle, making a “Fanta flute.”

Amira sketches Halima in profile, beautiful and smiling, with lips that seem to say, “Amira, come to my new school” (257). During her lesson with Old Anwar, she is quiet, unable to articulate how much she loves learning to write, how thankful she is, and how she longs to attend a real school. Old Anwar asks what is on her mind, and she tells him about Gad Primary School. He looks “pleased / and questioning, / and troubled” (260). Amira believes she has hurt him and prepares to be reprimanded; however, Old Anwar apologizes for “not seeing / that the bright star right in front of me / needs a bigger sky / to shine” (262). Unfortunately, school costs money they don’t have, and it is too dangerous to travel to Nyala. Amira watches a group of ants pushing dirt to build a mound, empathizing with their desire to climb a hill despite being small and feeling Old Anwar’s discouragement crush her own “hill of hope” (262) underfoot.

Amira follows the hedgehog around the camp until it reaches the intake gate manned by a safari-suited guard. She cannot go any further and envies the ease with which the hedgehog passes underneath the chain-link fence. Back at their hut, Amira overhears Muma and Old Anwar fighting about her. Muma thinks Old Anwar is wasting Amira’s time with lessons, when Amira is meant for marriage and children; Old Anwar believes Amira’s natural brilliance is being wasted. Muma thrusts Amira’s yellow pad at her when she walks in, which she found underneath her sleeping pallet; despite Muma’s anger, “her eyes are filled with curiosity, / glimpsing the words and pictures / that fill [the] pages” (267). Muma leaves, declaring both Old Anwar and Amira to be fools. Amira asks Old Anwar if he told Muma her wish, but he didn’t. He gives Amira her red pencil which he had hidden from Muma, declaring that “Your mother has many opinions about me, Amira, but I am not a fool” (268).

Muma and Amira sit beside each other quietly as they cook, poking the fire. Amira begins to draw people in the sand with her poking stick, leading Muma to ask who they are; the faces are Amira and Muma. Muma begins to draw with her own stick, adding a hibiscus, a wreath, and a frame around the faces; she asks for Amira’s permission to add smiles to the faces as well. Amira reflects on how her mother “has found a treasure / she didn’t know was hidden” (271). The novel’s accompanying illustration shows a girl using a twig to sketch two faces in sand.

At night, Amira has a silent conversation with the full moon, praying for guidance. She feels conflicted by her mother who loves her but is blinded by her beliefs, which is holding her back from realizing her dream of attending school. Amira asks the moon what she must do; the moon disappears behind a cloud, only to reappear without any coaxing. The novel’s accompanying illustration shows a girl kneeling on a prayer mat underneath a full moon. Amira considers the dangers she will face if she leaves Kalma, including mosquitoes, scorpions, and the Janjaweed; despite these doubts, she can’t help wondering, “If I escape Kalma’s boundaries, what else is possible?” (275).

In Amira’s next lesson with Old Anwar, he introduces some of the Koran’s teachings. One of them is that Allah is the light, and the way to find the light is to follow the path that shines brightest. With her pencil, Amira reimagines the “Sudanese flowers” as actual blossoms hanging onto the “blue-line fences” on her yellow pad. She learns a new letter, “T,” and a new word, “tomato”—reminding her of Dando’s tomatoes, “Pride-fruits / filled / with seeds of possibility” (278).

Part 2, Chapters 164-180 Summary

This section covers Chapter 164: “Thirst Returns,” Chapter 165: “Fly or Die,” Chapter 166: “Nightmare,” Chapter 167: “Dumb Donkey,” Chapter 168: “Looming,” Chapter 169: “CNN Daydream,” Chapter 170: “Promises,” Chapter 171: “Sister-to-Sister” Chapter 172: “Good-Bye Gifts,” Chapter 173: “Now,” Chapter 174: “Itchy Doubt,” Chapter 175: “Dando Bright!”, Chapter 176: “Pray, Wait,” Chapter 177: “Hedgehog Escape,” Chapter 178: “Quickened,” Chapter 179: “We,” and Chapter 180: “Flight.”

Amira notices that the girl with the rude husband has a “melon belly” and an empty expression. She wonders whether the arrival of a child will be joyous or turn her life into a “drained basin.” On the way back to the hut to help Muma with evening chores, Amira hears the rude husband call out to her to help him carry his things. There are plenty of men and boys about, but the man only calls to Amira. She ignores the man, pretending to be “as clueless as a dumb donkey” (286).

Amira’s Fanta flute fills with flies that try to climb up from the bottom of the bottle. She shouts at them to look up at the “O” which is their escape, and wonders if they know the way out but are “too frightened by the possibility” (282). Amira knows they can’t stay inside forever; they must either fly or die.

Amira dreams of plastic clouds smothering the sky and raining down “Sudanese flowers” that suffocate her. When she wakes, she realizes she will become a “Sudanese flower” herself if she spends her life at Kalma, “stuck to thorny fences, / stunted” (287). She has another dream in which the television screen bursts open and invites her inside to a “CNN party.” Amira is wearing a Gad Primary School uniform and singing the alphabet song with Halima; the letters, too, are playing and dancing, and the dream feels like a “glory-sun.”

Amira confides in Leila her plan to flee Kalma, saying that “birds can’t fly in Kalma’s cage” (289) and swearing her to secrecy. She drapes her birthday toob around Leila; Leila promises to fill it, but Amira asserts that it fits her already. Amira tells Leila her wish to attend the Gad Primary School in Nyala; Leila thinks Amira is being a “silly lizard” and cannot leave them. The older promises to return and teach Leila, Gamal, and the other children everything she learns, giving them all “a path to a chance” (291). She leaves behind her Fanta flute for Gamal, her tomato drawing for Old Anwar, her red pencil and yellow pad for Muma, and a page filled with her favorite “O” shape; the novel’s accompanying illustration shows a bottle, a tomato, a notepad, and a pencil.

At dusk, Amira gathers some supplies and begins walking, following “Allah’s light” as she was taught from the Koran. Old Anwar is away looking for firewood, while Muma, Leila, and Gamal are on their way to the prayer tent, expecting Amira to join them; there is no one to watch or question Amira. She feels “itchy doubt” as she flees, but a sudden “moon shadow” gives way to Dando’s silhouette on the ground. Believing this to be “bright guidance,” Amira hurries along. The novel’s accompanying illustration shows the silhouette of a man, surrounded by stars.

Amira hurries past tents to the chain-link fence guarded by intake officers. She manages to slip past them unnoticed when they begin to squabble over a bottle of Fanta—completing her own “hedgehog escape.” Heart beating fast and with no idea where Nyala is, Amira follows the moon’s light. She soon hears feet approaching her from behind and begins to run, but her pursuer catches up to her, calling her name. It is Old Anwar, furious as it is not safe for a girl to be traveling alone after dark. Amira confesses that she has left Kalma for good and is on her way to Gad Primary School, following the light of the moon. Old Anwar insists that she cannot walk alone to a place she does not know, and she begins to cry. He drags his old wheelbarrow and asks Amira to get in; they begin to walk together. As the morning approaches, Amira imagines herself as a sparrow, “[her] beak, / [her] gaze, / straight, / not once looking down” (308). She wonders what else is possible and answers her own question: “I am.” The final illustration shows a winged Amira flying high above Kalma.

Part 2, Chapters 146-180 Analysis

Once again, the theme of Resilience, Growth, and Change is prominent in these final chapters. Amira’s arc is most representative of this theme, and her resilience shines as the story comes to a close. Despite the difficult circumstances and trauma she has undergone in the past few months, Amira holds out hope for a better future for herself. This resurgence of optimism is evident in her changed views on a number of things. The tomato, once a symbol of conflict between Dando and Old Anwar, is now a fruit filled with “seeds of possibility” (278). Similarly, Amira reimagines the “Sudanese flowers” as actual blooms clinging onto the fences at Kalma. The red pencil no longer feels hard and uncomfortable in her hand; as Amira begins to draw and dream again, she feels one with the pencil, like she did with her old twig and the “sparrow” inside her. Amira now harbors a specific dream of leaving Kalma and attending the Gad Primary School in Nyala. Though she is initially discouraged by Old Anwar’s dismissal of this dangerous endeavor, she continues to wonder about the possibilities. Amira’s resolve to leave Kalma solidifies over these chapters.

Amira is not the only character who sees growth, however. She is amazed to see Leila and Gamal share a Fanta between themselves, even leaving a final sip for her. Muma, too, seems to be moving forward. Despite Muma’s anger over Amira’s writing, Amira is able to sense her subtle curiosity. In a parallel to the scene in which Muma and Amira knead bread in their old home, they cook together again in their new home; however, this time, it is Amira who teaches Muma something new, as they draw in the sand together. A major catalyst for Muma’s changing attitude is Old Anwar. Both Dando (before his death) and Old Anwar believe in Amira’s potential and the benefit of learning to write; however, Dando was never able to bring up the subject with Muma. Old Anwar is able to discuss education with Muma in a way Dando never could, even though it leads to an explosive fight. Old Anwar steps into the role of teacher, parent, and even protector for Amira, supporting her dream and leaving Kalma to keep her safe on her journey to Nyala.

Amira’s decision to leave Kalma is largely bolstered by a strengthening of faith, calling to the theme of Tradition and Faith. As she once did in the village, Amira regards the full moon as holy once more, praying to it to help ease the conflict in her heart between her love for Muma and her desire to learn. This is complemented by Old Anwar teaching Amira the Koran, particularly the idea of following Allah’s light. The idea of faith being key to healing and resilience is explored in different ways. Old Anwar and his ability to feel gratitude is one example; Amira’s brave decision to leave Kalma and follow the guiding light of the moon, which she likens to Allah’s light, is another. The doubt and fear she does feel when she initially steps out are dispelled by Dando’s silhouette in the moonlight; this acts as a good omen, reassuring Amira and strengthening her resolve.

As Amira leaves Kalma in search of Nyala, the theme of Land and Home comes into play one last time. Kalma has never been a place Amira could call home. From the moment she arrived at the camp, she’s felt uneasy; the stark contrast between the camp and the old farm have been constantly highlighted. One example that stands out is that of the girl with the rude husband. She becomes pregnant, and Amira wonders whether the baby will be welcome, or yet another burden in the girl’s life. Amira’s reaction to the girl’s pregnancy is vastly different from the anticipation and joy with which she received her sheep Nali’s pregnancy back on the farm. The thought of new life in a place like Kalma is not a happy one. Despite the fact that Amira has healed and grown in her time at the camp, Kalma continues to be an infertile, stagnant place where only “Sudanese flowers” thrive. Even as Amira is able to sketch them as pretty blooms, she dreams of being suffocated by them; the power of imagination cannot rewrite the reality that they are, ultimately, scraps of litter. If Amira continues to stay at Kalma, she will stagnate and turn into a “Sudanese flower” herself. Like the flies at the bottom of her Fanta bottle, she, too, must fly or die.

Besides the red pencil, the tomato, and the “Sudanese flowers,” other important symbols that appear in these final chapters are food in general, the hedgehog, and the sparrow. A recurring motif in Old Anwar and Amira’s relationship is the gifting of food. Once again, Old Anwar introduces Amira to something new, tasty, and comforting: orange Fanta. The neighborhood hedgehog reappears, and Amira follows the animal around the camp, envying its ability to easily escape Kalma’s fencing; toward the end of the novel, Amira pulls off her own “hedgehog escape” and slips past the guards. The sparrow, too, makes a final resplendent appearance. Before Amira leaves, she confides in Leila about her plan, explaining her decision to leave as driven by the fact that birds can’t fly in Kalma’s cage; this reinforces Amira’s identification with the image of a “sparrow” as her spirit. Fittingly, her escape from Kalma is symbolized by the sparrow in both verse and illustration: Amira imagines herself as a sparrow flying high with her beak and gaze straight, the accompanying sketch depicting her winged self leaving for good.