58 pages • 1 hour read
Leah JohnsonYou Should See Me in a Crown
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2020A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 5, Chapters 28-29Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 5: "Week Four"
Chapter 28 Summary
Liz decides to completely overhaul her prom campaign strategy. In a reference to Liz’s earlier conversation with Jordan about prom being a twisted fairy tale, Britt designs new posters that display a “eerily realistic black castle” and with text that reads “Fuck your fairy tale” (137-38). Jordan, who has a key to the school due to early morning practices, let them into school in the middle of the night so that they can plaster the poster over the walls of the common area. The new posters also use the crown imagery for which Liz has come to be known.
Liz is slightly worried that the profanity and the connection to her campaign will result in her getting in trouble. Despite this, she proceeds to post a long post on Campbell Confidential, one that dissects prom as an institution that never allows the disadvantaged to win. Liz realizes that, “I never needed this race or a hashtag or the king to be a queen. I was born royalty. All I had to do was pick up my crown” (139). Liz’s newfound confidence allows her to stand up for herself when she is summoned to Principal Wilson’s office.
Principal Wilson stands for the conservative and antiquated systems at play in Campbell that Liz writes about in her post. Liz and her friends have thought through every part of their plan; they technically have not broken any rules. Principal Wilson is furious about the profanity and demands to know if Liz kisses her mother with that mouth. To that, Liz responds that her mother is dead. Liz ends up speaking directly to Madame Simoné, the teacher responsible for prom, and lays out how she has attended every single voluntary and mandatory event. Both Principal Wilson and Madame Simoné are taken aback by Liz’s ardent defense.
Eventually, they let her go back to class with a warning, but Madame Simoné comments that Liz has the chance to be the first Black queen in Campbell history. Liz sees through her comment and recognizes it as the warning it is meant to be. She knows that she has to make space for herself at Campbell, and that it will never willingly cede anything to her.
Chapter 29 Summary
Liz and the other prom candidates get done up in ripped clothes and bloody makeup to participate in the school’s drunk driving simulation. While Liz is getting ready in the dressing room, she overhears Quinn and Lucy, both close friends of Rachel, discussing something Rachel is planning. They quickly change the conversation when they realize that Liz is there, and then proceed to help Liz with her makeup.
Liz is suspicious and asks them why they are helping her. They admit that they like Liz, and that they don’t have anything against her like Rachel does. They admit that they thought Liz was the one who didn’t like them because she never spoke to them before. Quinn freely admits that Rachel is mean and while Liz is taken aback by this, her friends openly discuss Rachel’s anger issues and her need for therapy. The drunk driving simulation goes off without a hitch and Liz gets invited to one of the jock’s bonfire afterwards. She finally feels like things are going back to normal.
Part 5, Chapters 28-29 Analysis
This short section of the novel deals with Liz’s fight against the conservative administration of Campbell high school. She gains new allies, and also new enemies. Gabi and her control over Liz’s campaign are both notably missing from this section. Without Gabi, however, Liz is able to formulate her own campaign. Instead of conceding to Campbell’s picture of a prom queen, as Gabi’s strategy did, Liz turns the expectations of prom queen on its head. Her new strategy is one that points out the injustices of the prom system and stands against it.
The response from the student body is one of “a mix of surprise, annoyance, and respect” (138). The administration, meanwhile, is composed of Principal Wilson and Madame Simoné. Madam Simoné has been primarily responsible for many of the prom events, overseeing them and ensuring that everything goes according to plan. Madame Simoné has also been present for Rachel’s racist comments against Liz. For example after Rachel’s pointed remark about affirmative action points, Madame Simoné said nothing to defend Liz and failed to chastise Rachel. In this section, the teacher is once again an onlooker to the unfair reprimanding of Liz. Instead of coming to Liz’s defense, Madame Simoné comments about Liz having the chance to become the first Black prom queen. Her tone is not one of support or of pride but rather of warning: Liz needs to say in line to have any chance of being validated by the system. She knows that Madame Simoné means, “You could make history if you just follow our rules. You could be a real credit to your people if you just straighten up and fly right. You could actually be worth something if you would shut up and take what we give you” (141). In this moment, Johnson once again sets up Campbell high school and its administration as a parallel to society at large.
Madame Simoné’s attitude towards Liz is not uncommon in the real world; it is, however, both racist and condescending. It infantilizes Liz and downplays her hard work and drive; it sees Liz and her demands for equality as a problem. It is willing to promise her scraps but unwilling to recognize or change the system as one that inherently privileges the white and wealthy. Quinn and Lucy are more examples of the complicit bystander; much like Madame Simoné, they say nothing to stop Rachel or to stand up for Liz. They know that Rachel is planning on outing Liz, but they do not warn her or tell the administration. In this section, Johnson showcases that not all racism manifests as explicitly as Rachel’s hate speech or bullying; racism can also appear in those who do nothing in the face of such discrimination.
