One of the things I enjoyed most about Nikki Grimes’ novel Bronx Masquerade is the theme of the book - the desire everyone has to be accepted but their fear that they lack the qualities needed to achieve that acceptance. Sheila Gamboroni sums up that need to connect to others in her poem “Private Puzzle” on pages 137-138. She uses descriptive words such as scrape and crushes to show the pain of trying to fit in but the comfort of finding her place in “someplace that feels like home”.
Through the introduction of Open Mic Fridays, Mr. Ward’s students were able to get a more intimate glimpse of fellow classmates. To their surprise they found that despite their differences they each shared the same insecurity and lack of self-worth. The poems allowed the characters to shed their daily masks (thus the title) that they hid behind and let classmates see the real person. As a result, it was discovered that all had talents and worth that they just needed to recognize. During this journey of self actualization some took a detour prior to acceptance. For example, Lupe Algarin envied Gloria Martinez because Gloria had a son. However, later in her poem “Message to a Friend” Gloria is able to express to Lupe that her lifestyle is far from ideal as she juggles the responsibilities of being a teenage mom with her school homework (p 43).
Through the character of Tanisha Scott the reader learns that even the life of someone with good looks is not what a person might imagine. Constant stares of envy had once prompted Tanisha to cut off her beautiful hair. She wanted to be seen as more than “hair.” Scott also allowed us to see how people’s perceptions of the same thing may be different. While others complemented Tanisha on her beautiful caramel-colored skin and saw it as an asset, she saw it as a reminder that her great, great grandmother had been raped by her slave master. Tanisha wanted others to see her pride of black ethnicity as she indicated by her poem “For the Record” (p 79-80).
Many of the characters the reader meets in the book have wonderful talents. Tyronne Bittings has a way with words, Judianne Alexander is able to sew her own clothes, Raymond Patterson can play the sax, Raul Ramirez is a painter, and Diondra Jordan can draw pictures in charcoal. But it takes Open Mic Fridays for these students to see the gifts they have. For Devin Hope seeing the more intimate side of fellow classmates gave him the courage to stand up and say he was more than the jock “Jump Shot”; he was intelligent and interested in literature. Moments at the mic reading her poems allowed Janelle Battles to forget about her weight, even if the feeling was only lasted while she was at the mic.
I think what makes this book so powerful and why it would be a great read for high school students is the reader is exposed to a variety of people and each person who reads this book can find at least once character among the group that they can relate to. This gives them hope as they strive develop into the person they want to be. This desire is eloquently expressed in Judianne Alexander’s poem “Cocoon” (p 62-63). This poem speaks about the pain of judgment by others, but also the determination and hope for improvement. Study of this novel by youth provides a great example of how the use of literature and the expression of words can give power to youth as a way of creating positive change rather than resorting to violence to make a difference.
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