54 pages • 1 hour read
Wendy MassA Mango-Shaped Space
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2003A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 4-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 4 Summary
Two weeks into the school year, Mia has failed two math tests. She knows that she has to tell her parents, but she is dreading it. When she finally tells them, she reminds them of the incident in the third grade and confesses that she was not lying when she said that numbers have colors. Her parents are shocked and confused, initially wondering if she is lying. Finally, they concede that they believe her and agree to take her to their family doctor to figure out what is happening.
The next day in history class, Mia begins a group project that will be worth half of her grade. She is in a group with Roger and two other students. At lunch, Jenna talks about the birthday party that she is planning; some boys will be attending. Mia’s mother arrives halfway through lunch and takes her to her doctor’s appointment. Beth is also there; she is covered in poison ivy rashes from picking herbs the night before. The pediatrician, Dr. Randolph, admits that Mia’s problem has him stumped. He gives her a regular check-up and asks Mia to describe exactly what she sees. She tells him, but he does not seem convinced. When he asks if she has her period yet, she says no and privately hopes that she will never get it. Dr. Randolph refers Mia to a psychotherapist.
Mia returns to school for gym class. She talks with Roger, who has sprained his ankle. He says that they need to work on their history project, but Mia is uninterested. On the way home, Jenna is curious about Mia’s appointment. Mia does not want to tell Jenna what is going on but assures her that she is not sick and that she will explain everything on the weekend. When she gets home, Mia works on an assignment for art class. She listens to music and paints what she sees in the style of the artist Kandinsky. She muses that it is a good thing that she is working on this assignment early in the school year, because by the end of it, she might be cured.
The weekend arrives, and Mia meets up with Jenna to tell her what is going on. She is reluctant to talk about it but remembers that Jenna is “closer to [her] than [her] own sister” (72). Mia tells Jenna everything and is shocked when Jenna starts crying. Jenna is upset that Mia kept this from her for all these years and questions their friendship. Mia protests that she thought that Jenna would understand. Jenna says that she does not and leaves suddenly. On Monday, when Jenna ignores her all day, Mia decides that she is very hurt.
Chapter 5 Summary
Mia and her mother go to the psychotherapist’s office. Mia is nervous but relieved that someone might be able to help her. The therapist, Ms. Finn, asks Mia some questions about her colors. She asks if Mia “see[s] the colors when [she’s] mad at her parents” (78) and Mia replies that she doesn’t “usually get mad at [her] parents” (78). She also asks if Mia has ever taken drugs; Mia says that she hasn’t. Ms. Finn asks about Mia’s experience as the middle child in her family, suggesting that middle children often act out because they lack attention from their parents. She asks if this is why Mia says that she sees colors. Mia is disappointed to realize that Ms. Finn is just “another doctor who doesn’t believe [her]” (79). Ms. Finn then talks to Mia’s mother privately. Mia hears them talking about a brain tumor. When Mia’s mother comes out of the office, she tells Mia that Ms. Finn has referred them to a neurologist at the University of Chicago.
Mia’s parents wake her up at 6:10am to tell her that she does not have a brain tumor. They have both just spoken to the neurologist who says that, because she has had the condition her whole life, it cannot be a brain tumor. He believes that he knows what is happening to Mia but wants to meet in person before he gives her a diagnosis.
Before school, Mia goes over to Jenna’s house and tries to make amends. She says that both of them need to apologize to each other for what they said during their fight. Jenna explains that, after her mother’s illness, she finds it scary to think about people being sick, which was why she reacted the way she did. Mia feels ashamed for not taking this into consideration. Jenna admits that she told their other friend, Kimberly, about Mia’s colors. Mia gets very upset and feels betrayed. She leaves Jenna’s house and goes home. Zack tells Mia that Mango has been acting strange lately; he peed on the couch. Mia dreads going to school and being called a “freak.”
Chapter 6 Summary
At school, everyone asks Mia what color their names are. They ask her increasingly ridiculous questions. At lunch in the cafeteria, even more people bombard Mia with questions about her colors. Mia finds it overwhelming. A blonde girl tells Mia that she should keep her colors secret, or she might get put “in a class for special kids” (92). Jenna tells Mia to ignore her, but Mia spends the rest of the lunch period hiding in the bathroom. In math class, there is a pop quiz, which Mia fails. When she gets home, Zack asks Mia more questions about her colors and asks why “[he] and Beth don’t have this” (93). He says that he thinks that her colors are cool and that it means that he is no longer the strangest person in the family, to Mia’s dismay.
Mia and her parents go to the university for her neurology appointment. They meet the neurologist, Dr. Weiss, who insists on being called Jerry. Jerry explains that there is nothing wrong with Mia; she has a rare condition called synesthesia. Synesthesia is harmless. It means that the wires in Mia’s brain are “crossed, not literally of course,” and her “visual and hearing senses are linked” (96), which is why she sees colors for sounds, letters, and numbers. Mia’s mother asks how they can make this condition go away. Jerry explains that they cannot; synesthesia is normal and life-long. Jerry tells Mia about an internet forum where other people with synesthesia have discussion groups that Mia can join. She is very excited about the prospect of meeting other people with synesthesia.
Chapters 4-6 Analysis
Chapters 4 through 6 focus primarily on Mia’s journey toward an official diagnosis of synesthesia. This is a challenging time for her, as she has no idea if her problem means that she is seriously ill or not. The challenge drives the rising action relating to the primary conflict in the book. Mia’s parents have a pivotal role in both the problems and resolution relating to this conflict. Their reaction is a mixed bag: they initially overreact and misunderstand, but they do ultimately support and believe her. Although her parents do not know what to do and are clearly worried about their daughter, they demonstrate Being Considerate of Others by choosing to believe what Mia says.
Mia’s first two doctor’s appointments relate to the theme of Understanding Oneself, since they make this harder for Mia. Her family doctor does not have any idea what to make of her claims, and the psychotherapist suggests that she is lying about her colors to get attention. When Mia meets Jerry and learns about synesthesia, the experience is revelatory. She finally has a name for her experiences and proof that she is not lying. This is a big step in the right direction that shifts Mia’s understanding of herself. It is hence a significant turning point in the novel, as Mia is now able to accurately explain her experiences to others. It is also a pivotal part of Mia’s character development since it allows her to take pride in her own identity as a synesthete.
Although Mia’s diagnosis is a positive thing for her, Mass drives the plot by, conversely, deepening the sense of secondary conflicts. Mia’s relationship with Jenna is particularly strained at this point in the story. Because of Jenna’s past experiences with Grief and Healing, she feels that Mia has betrayed her trust. Although the two friends eventually resolve that particular conflict, things are not yet back to normal. Jenna has told other people about Mia’s colors without her permission, which is one of the instances where it is Jenna, and not Mia, who is still learning about Being Considerate of Others.
At school, art class offers Mia an opportunity to express herself. The novel does not state that Kandinsky had synesthesia, but Mass draws parallels between his artistic expression and Mia’s colors. Her connection to Kandinsky’s art implies that her experiences are not negative, but rather an opportunity for creativity and connection to other people. Mia’s synesthesia brings both positive and negative things into her life. For example, Mass juxtaposes the fact that it helps with her art, but it makes her classmates’ questions feel overwhelming and invasive. The dichotomy of positive and negative remains consistent throughout the book. While Mia learns that synesthesia is unusual, it is presented in the book as a neutral trait with both advantages and disadvantages.
These chapters begin to foreshadow Mango’s death, as Zack says that he has been behaving strangely. Although Mia loves Mango very much, she pays little attention to this shift in his behavior. The shift in Mia’s attention and priorities is indicative of her character development in the coming-of-age narrative: a shift away from the past and toward the future and Understanding Oneself. Furthermore, Mass’s use of secondary characters highlights Mia’s increasing fascination with her own synesthesia. She draws away from other aspects of her life, and she does not demonstrate Being Considerate of Others when she delays working on her history assignment with Roger. It is not until the end of the story when Mia is able to strike a balance between her instinct toward self-discovery and her desire to connect with those around her. In these chapters, the lack of balance is established as a conflict.
Related Titles
By Wendy Mass
