language

Throughout the novel it becomes clear that language is a key component of survival for Frenchie and his new found family. Before Frenchie knows what Minerva teaches the girls, he feels bad for them, unaware that “‘Minerva has the language and us poor guys are stuck with her so we learn.’ She used her fingers to put air quotes around poor guys” (Demaline 38). Once Frenchie finds out that Minerva has the language, he begins taking in everything he can, the words becoming “a prayer I couldn’t add breath to, a world I wasn’t willing to release. It made my lungs feel heavy, my heart grow light, until the juxtaposition of the two phased into sleep” (Demaline 39). Frenchie becomes so desperate that he eavesdrops, doing anything he can to learn the old language. Check this out: