The Misfits

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2001

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-8

Chapters 9-12

Chapters 13-16

Chapters 17-20

Chapters 21-24

Chapters 25-27

Chapters 28-30

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Quiz

Chapters 1-4Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 Summary

Bobby is a 12-year-old boy living in the town of Paintbrush Falls, New York. When the novel opens, Bobby has just begun his new job as a tie salesman at Awkworth & Ames Department Store. Despite being so young, Bobby was able to get the job as a tie salesman in part because his father used to work for the department store. Bobby sees his friend, Skeezie Tookis, walking toward him through the department store. Bobby is nervous because his boss, Mr. Kellerman, whom some people call “Killer Man” (2) is watching, and Skeezie Tookis looks out of place in the upscale store. Mr. Kellerman is about to call security to remove Skeezie from the store when Bobby insists on speaking to Skeezie, explaining, “‘A customer waiting for assistance is a friend waiting to be made’” (5), a quote from the employee manual. Skeezie is upset that Bobby is working after school on a Friday, instead of meeting their group of friends at the Candy Kitchen, a local diner where they hang out every week. Bobby says maybe he can change his shift next Friday, but the boys overhear Mr. Kellerman respond, “‘Perhaps next Friday you will no longer be working here at all’” (9). Finally, Skeezie leaves, and Bobby and Mr. Keller wait in the empty store for the workday to end.

Chapter 2 Summary

Bobby begins Chapter 2 by describing his group of friends. In addition to Skeezie, one of Bobby’s best friends is Addie Carle, a girl who is often made fun of at school “because of her being so tall, in addition to the factor of her intelligence” (11). Bobby has another friend named Joe, whom Bobby considers extremely creative. Bobby notes, “Kids who get called the worst names often find each other” (13) which is how he, Skeezie, Addie, and Joe became a group. The four friends call themselves “the Gang of Five”, even though there are only four of them, “to keep people on their toes” or in case “there’s one more kid out there who’s going to need a gang to be a part of. A misfit, like us” (13).

Bobby and Addie have been friends since they were babies because their mothers were good friends. In kindergarten, Skeezie was a class bully, until Addie decided to befriend him by sending him a Valentine. Skeezie, Addie, and Bobby became friends, and Skeezie stopped bullying the other students.

One day, during the second week of seventh grade, the class is instructed to stand and say the Pledge of Allegiance. Addie remains seated. The homeroom teacher, Ms. Wyman, asks Addie why she refuses to participates in the Pledge of Allegiance. Addy stands and explains that the dictionary definition of pledge is “[a] promise or agreement by which one binds himself to do or forbear something” (19). Addie explains firstly that the dictionary is sexist, because it should say himself or herself, and secondly, that she can’t pledge loyalty to the country because not everyone experiences liberty and justice. Addie explains that she read in that morning’s New York Times that police in New York City unjustly profile and arrest African Americans. While Addie makes her speech, her classmates groan and make fun of her for being a know-it-all. Addie finally sits down, only to release the sound of passing gas. Ms. Wyman accuses Kevin Hennessey, the class bully, of putting a whoopee cushion on Addie’s chair.

Chapter 3 Summary

For the past year, Bobby, Skeezie, Addie, and Joe meet regularly at the Candy Kitchen for what they call “The Friday Forum,” a meeting where they discuss important topics. Since Bobby now has an after-school job on Fridays, the group has decided to meet whenever they want. Therefore, “The Friday Forum became The Floating Forum” (22). After school, the group gathers for The Forum, and Addie brings up the topic of discussion: “Liberty and Justice for All” (22). Addie insists on taking minutes, which means she writes down what everyone has to say. Addie brings up the incident with the Pledge of Allegiance that morning in class. Joe interrupts the meeting to insist he be called Scorpio instead. Bobby asks what happened to “Jodan,” Joe’s name from the previous week, which was a combination of his first and middle name, but Joe insists he prefers Scorpio. Bobby compliments Addie on sticking to her principals but believes that the Pledge of Allegiance is more about aiming for what they want in the country, and that it may be easier to just say the Pledge of Allegiance along with everybody else to avoid trouble. Bobby adds, “My dad says it’s better just to get along, not make waves. He says bringing attention can be a dangerous thing’” (26). Instead of returning to the topic of liberty and justice, they discuss their teachers. They decide that Ms. Wyman is both the best and the meanest teacher.

Chapter 4 Summary

The next day at school, there is a homophobic slur written on Joe’s locker. Joe accuses Kevin Hennessey of the graffiti, and Kevin responds that he didn’t do it, “Not this time, anyway” (31). Joe and Kevin have been fighting since kindergarten.

Bobby remembers the first time he met Joe. When Bobby was four, he was playing at Addie’s house when Addie told Bobby to go meet the four-year-old who lived next door. Bobby rang the bell, and Joe answered wearing a dress. Joe said he was a boy and lifted his skirt to prove it to Bobby. Over the years, Joe continued to borrow clothes from his mom’s closet until she gave Joe a box of hand-me-downs to use to play dress-up. Joe doesn’t wear dresses anymore as far as Bobby knows, but Joe will dress in other unusual ways. For example, he has a colored streak in his hair and paints his right pinky finger. Joe’s aunt Pam, an artist who sells makeup at the department store, sometimes paints Joe’s nail with creative images.

In homeroom, Ms. Wyman explains that the school will be holding elections for student council. In sixth grade, every student registered as a Democrat or a Republican. The Democrats and the Republicans will each hold a nominating convention in a few days. Addie reminds Ms. Wyman that she is registered as an Independent and asks where the Independents will meet. Ms. Wyman responds that the school has a two-party system. The Pledge of Allegiance comes over the speaker system, and again, Addie refuses to stand and recite the pledge. Ms. Wyman sends Addie to the principal’s office.

Chapters 1-4 Analysis

In the opening chapters, the reader is introduced to the protagonist, Bobby. Bobby is a seventh grader living in Paintbrush Falls, New York. He is smart, with a sharp sense of humor, but is often bullied at school. Bobby describes the various mean names he’s been called, including “Pork Chop, Roly-Poly, Dough Boy, and Fluff” (12). Although Bobby calls his group of friends misfits, he wonders, “Maybe it’s the whole rest of the seventh grade at Paintbrush Falls Middle School who’s misfits” (13), imagining that once he grows up and enters the real world, he will meet more people like himself. He wonders if the people his classmates call “misfits” are just people who act like themselves, “instead of ‘fits,’ who are like everybody else” (14). This line of thinking shows Bobby’s intelligence and how he enjoys having deep thoughts about big ideas. Nevertheless, Bobby insists that he and his friends are okay because they don’t listen to the bullies who call them weird.

The novel also uses many creative storytelling techniques. For example, in many places, Bobby addresses the reader directly. In Chapter 1, as Bobby describes Skeezie’s personality, he says, “If I seem to be going on at some length to defend a character you have barely met…” (2), justifying his description of Skeezie’s character to the reader. In another passage, Bobby explains the French term “raison d’être”, saying, “which is French for ‘reason to be,’ in case not knowing what something means in another language gets in the way of your following the action” (21). This technique adds a conversational tone to the text and makes it feel as if Bobby is speaking directly to the reader. In addition, the majority of Chapter 3 is a transcription of Addie’s “minutes,” her notes from the group’s Forum meeting at the Candy Kitchen. This allows the reader to get a sense of each character’s voice as well as the way this group interacts with one another.

The novel also introduces themes that mirror the world of adults. The fact that the school sorts children under “Republican” and “Democrat” labels from the sixth grade functions as a satire of the American two-party system. This encourages tribalism while disincentivizing independent thought, alienating Addie who refuses to conform to the school’s civic expectations surrounding political parties and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Finally, these chapters introduce LGBTQIA+ themes with Joe’s character. Although the novel does not at this point comment on his sexual orientation, it is clear that Joe defies traditional gender norms by wearing his mother’s dresses and asking his aunt to paint his nails. The extent to which Joe views identity as malleable and grounds for experimentation is shown through his tendency to change his name at will.