Bronx Masquerade

Devon is in the cafeteria, and he and Tanisha nod to each other. After a past Open Mike Friday, they bonded over “being put in a box” (82). They relate to each other, even though their boxes are different.

In the cafeteria, Devon encounters Mike, a basketball teammate. Devon is reading Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note, a 1961 volume of poetry by Amiri Baraka. Mike asks why he’s reading it, and Devon decides to tell the truth: He’s reading it because he wants to. Mike makes fun of him, but Devon still decides to carry the book with him to their basketball game later that day. He’s not afraid to show the team who he really is.

Using boxes as a metaphor for “superficial judgments,” Devon’s poem, “Black Box,” describes all sorts of boxes, most of which are full of nothing. The poem addresses Mike by name. He ends the poem by saying he’s human and doesn’t belong in any kind of box.

Tyrone reflects, “The brotha’s right. I look around this class and nobody I see fits into the box I used to put them in” (85). He even reflects on his assumptions about Mr.