Saints and Misfits

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2017

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-12

Chapters 13-17

Chapters 18-22

Chapters 23-26

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Chapters 13-17Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 13 Summary: “Monster”

Janna rides the bus with Fizz to the mosque’s open house that Sunday, but she doesn’t tell her friend about the development with Jeremy. Fizz has news for Janna; her uncle asked Farooq to lead some of the prayers at Ramadan this year. Hearing this, Janna feels that she cannot tell Fizz about the assault because “she’d never believe such an unholy thing” (71). At the mosque, Janna takes some photos for her uncle’s website and greets him. Amu tells her that Muhammad can come live with him, if necessary, but he thinks the best thing would be for him to stay at home. As she walks away, she accidentally bumps into Farooq, who tells her that he wishes he had a camera to capture her expression.

To avoid Farooq, she begins taking pictures of a booth at which a Christian merchant is selling very stereotypical Muslim items such as camel bridles and harem photos. Nuah joins her at this booth and requests a kufti, but the merchant returns with a fez. Muhammad joins them, and when Farooq approaches, both Nuah and Muhammad welcome him. Farooq thanks Muhammad for convincing Amu to let him lead prayers at Ramadan, and in response, the boys congratulate Farooq on having memorized the entire Qur’an. The Christian merchant asks Farooq what the Qur’an says about Jesus and is surprised when Farooq is unable to answer. He questions why Farooq would memorize something that he does not understand. In the ensuing discussion, Janna manages to slip away. On the way home, Fizz declares that she doesn’t understand girls who wear the hijab to the mosque only and calls them weak. Thinking of how she feels around Farooq, Janna reflects that she can no longer judge others for weakness.

Chapter 14 Summary: “Saint”

While preparing to chaperone her brother’s meeting with Sarah, Janna discovers a flyer in her mom’s dresser; it advertises a Muslim Marriage service, and Janna realizes that this is where her mother went the night before. On the drive over to meet with Sarah, Muhammad tells Janna that the perfect guy for her would be Farooq, insisting that he is helping her by making this suggestion. Janna stays silent.

At the restaurant, Sarah is more interested in learning about Janna than about Muhammad, and Janna almost feels sorry for her brother. But she decides instead to get back at him for suggesting she might have a future with Farooq. When the dessert menu arrives, she makes a big show of asking her brother if he has found a job yet or if his pursuit of philosophy continues to deter future employers. Then she goes to the bathroom with Sarah, feeling him stare her down. But when they return, Muhammad has ordered all the desserts on the menu, and Sarah beams at him. Janna realizes that Sarah has been focusing on her all evening because she and Muhammad are already an item, and she’s now just trying to win Janna over.

Chapter 15 Summary: “Misfits”

Janna struggles to get dressed for school the next day, because it is a hot day and she must wear several layers of clothing. Despite her efforts, she ends up in all black layers and worries about the comments that other students will make. At school, her English teacher informs her that her final essay will need to be on The Tempest. Janna asks her teacher whether Caliban is a demonization of dark men. The teacher confirms that the text can be interpreted this way, but Janna realizes that the only aspect of the play she can concentrate on is the attempted assault of Miranda.

In history class, Janna forms a group with two other girls, Sandra and Lauren, to give a short presentation. Sandra, who has a birthmark on her face, is another “misfit” at school. Lauren refuses to interact with Sandra, telling Janna that Sandra touches herself in class. Janna says she’s never seen this happen, and, feeling sorry for Sandra, she invites Sandra to join her group at lunch, postponing her much-anticipated conversation with Jeremy conversation even further. Later, she meets Tats on the roof. (Tats inherited an illicit key to the roof from her brother.) Tats tells Janna that Jeremy confirmed his interest in Janna. At home after school, Janna drinks chocolate milk in celebration and dreamily moves around their apartment. When Muhammad sees her, he laughs at her. Later, Fizz’s sister Aliya calls to invite her to join the carpool for the regional Islamic Quiz Bowl, and Janna accepts. However, she declines to talk to Fizz, worried that Fizz will hear the excitement and love in her voice.

Chapter 16 Summary: “Misfits”

After a challenging gym class in which Janna is uncharacteristically not wearing her hijab, she is shocked to see Jeremy standing at the entrance of the gymnasium. Because she knows that allowing a man to see her hair is against the practices of her faith, she is not sure how to handle the situation. Although Tats reassures her that she doesn’t look that immodest, Janna is called over by the teacher, Ms. Eisen, who informs her that she wants to end the year by playing softball and has requested Jeremy’s help, since he’s on the baseball team. She tells Janna to go ahead and put on her hijab, although she repeatedly mispronounces the word.

In math, Janna and Soon-Lee, the only two girls in class, agree to study together because their teacher gave them a review packet that includes material they never covered in class. They realize the review guide is just something that their teacher printed from a random website. At the library, they run into two boys from their class who are printing out a test from that same website. While Janna accepts a copy, she is unsure whether she will use it.

That evening, Muhammad and Janna have a Skype call with their dad, who insists that they stay with him when they drive up to Chicago for the Islamic Quiz Bowl tournament. Janna reveals that Muhammad is dating Sarah, and their dad proposes that the entire Quiz Bowl team stay with him so that he can meet Sarah. After the call, Muhammad criticizes Janna for instigating this, saying that he doesn’t want the entire team to realize that their father isn’t Islamic. That night, Fizz calls and asks about Tats and Jeremy. Not wanting to admit the depths of her mutual attraction to Jeremy, Janna lies and says that Tats just gave him some cursory information. Feeling guilty, she quickly ends the call.

Chapter 17 Summary: “Misfits and Saints”

At breakfast the next morning, Janna and Muhammad once again have a disagreement about their dad; Muhammad expresses surprise that she actually reads his daily email chain. However, Janna identifies more with her dad and perceives Muhammad and her mom as being similar to each other. At school, Sandra once more joins Tats and Janna for lunch, and Janna notices strange looks from Lauren and some of the other girls. At gym class, Janna removes her hijab, and Tats compliments her on her hair. Janna tells Tats that her mother has recently begun investing in more makeup and hair products, though mentally she tries not to think about her mother looking for a new partner.

Janna goes into the gymnasium without the hijab, and the teacher, Ms. Eisen, loudly exclaims that there’s a male present, so Janna should go get her hijab. Deeply embarrassed by the attention that the announcement calls to her, Janna leaves the class and doesn’t return. She even walks home without talking to her friends, but on her way into the building, Mr. Ram calls to her and asks about the graphic novel she is writing about the prophet Muhammad. She tells him that she no longer wants to work on it, that it was just something she did as a kid. They talk some more, and she notices that he’s acting a little strange and is wearing unusually warm clothes for the hot weather. Before she leaves, he recites a poem by Rabindranath Tagore for her.

Upstairs, she looks for information about non-Muslim romantic relationships on her uncle’s website, but instead, she finds a question that Amu answered about wearing non-Muslim clothing. Amu tells the questioner that the inward matters more than the outward, and that as long as the clothing follows the Islamic principles of cleanliness and modesty, any style or material is appropriate. That evening, her mom once more asks her to give up her room to Muhammad, but Janna resists, claiming that her mom only cares about Muhammad. She also feels like her mother and brother have teamed up against her. During this difficult conversation, Janna receives several messages from Tats telling her that Jeremy liked her hair and wants to talk to her. Feeling sick about hiding this development from her mom, Janna immediately deletes the texts.

Chapters 13-17 Analysis

This section intensifies the novel’s exploration of the theme of Safety and Peril within Religious Communities, for as Janna continues to carry the secret of her assault, Farooq gains further prominence in the Muslim community, rising to a position of spiritual leadership by leading prayers at Ramadan. Janna’s friends also look to Farooq with respect, for Nuah congratulates him on memorizing the Qur’an, Fizz claims that he deserves this honor “after all the hard work” (71), and even Muhammad suggests that Janna should consider Farooq as a potential future husband. Thus, such public examples of approval for Janna’s attacker render her even more alienated, for all of her usual allies have unwittingly placed themselves on the side of her attacker. This development only deepens the fear that Janna feels about revealing her experience, and while she continues to remain silent, her friends’ open admiration for her attacker drives a deep rift between her and her community, since she alone knows the truth of Farooq. However, she is unable to see how deeply her silence is hurting her; she even questions her inner turmoil, saying, “It’s his evil. So why is it me that’s hurting?” (85) Instead of facing her fear and pain, she pulls away from Fizz and from Muhammad, going deeper into her own secrets and resisting the process of Reclaiming One’s Voice after Sexual Assault.

This section also explores themes of judgement and perception, showing that there are many ways to be a misfit in society. While Janna continues to feel like a misfit and worries about the comments that students will make about her modest layers on a hot day, she also befriends another girl, Sandra, who is a misfit in their school. Sandra is judged by others for having a birthmark on her face, an aspect of herself that she has little control over, just as Janna has little control over how others perceive the signs of her faith. Thus, Janna stands up for Sandra by denying the veracity of the rumors that other students spread about her and inviting Sandra to be her friend. Both Janna and Sandra experience the judgment of others based on outward perceptions, a dynamic that adds to their internal conflicts. They both face societal expectations and pressures that limit their individuality and agency, and this serves as a point upon which the two girls can bond and build a friendship. For Janna in particular, the tension between societal judgement and personal authenticity is a constant struggle as she seeks to break free from the constraints imposed upon her and live her own truth.

In parallel with the pressures of her peers at school, Janna also feels pressure to be a certain kind of Muslim. While she feels excitement over her burgeoning relationship with Jeremy, she keeps it hidden from her friend Fizz because she knows that her friend, who adheres to an even stricter observation of Islam than Janna does, would disapprove. In connection with this conflict, Janna recalls the rules about zina (promiscuity): “A Muslim is not to long for the things that lead to zina, such as kissing, being alone, and touching, for all these things are haram [acts that are forbidden by Allah] and lead to the greater evil which is zina” (107). Although Janna tells herself that she will not commit any wrongdoing, she still struggles to understand where the boundaries lie. Interpreting religion and faith therefore serves as a recurring theme, and Ali’s novel finds a variety of ways to explore the various practices, expectations, and interpretations that exist within the Muslim community. The exploration of different perspectives on religious practices highlights the complexities involved in seeking to follow a religious path in every aspect of one’s life. This issue is aptly demonstrated when Janna thinks that girls who wear the hijab to mosque only may still be gathering the courage to wear it full-time, but Fizz denounces them outright, calling them weak. A further example occurs when Janna examines Uncle Amu’s website, where the Muslim American community can post their questions about various interpretations of religious practices. Uncle Amu’s answer to the question about wearing non-Muslim clothing reinforces the theme of Understanding People’s True Motivations, for he essentially states that the why behind the action is just as important as the action itself. He writes, “If our outsides look pious but our core is not mindful of Him, we are not true servants of God. We must constantly strive to align these” (137). This idea parallels Mr. Ram’s earlier claim that people who do good without a pure reason are just “husks” with no fruit inside them.

These larger community questions have a strong impact on Janna’s personal life as she tries to decide for herself whether or not to remove the hijab during gym class. Although Jeremy’s glimpse of her without her hijab makes her feel ashamed and self-conscious, his attention also makes her feel “like the most beautiful girl in the world” (115) and causes her to forgo the hijab for the next gym class as well. One prominent theme that emerges through this experience is the interplay between identity and authenticity. Janna grapples with the expectations placed on her as a hijabi Muslim and struggles to both understand and express her true self. Thus, she faces challenges in reconciling her personal desires and beliefs with the perceptions and judgments of others. Janna’s ongoing struggle with her identity is evident as she contemplates her relationship with Jeremy and deals with the pressure of fitting into the societal expectations of being a good Muslim girl. The appearance of the hijab therefore encapsulates many complexities, for it symbolizes the tension between Janna’s individual expression and her desire to conform to the social expectations and religious standards of her community.