Bronx Masquerade

The students in Mr. Ward’s class often face themselves and compare themselves to each other. Mirrors are common symbols in their prose and poetry sections that represent both self-reflection and commonalities among the characters.

In Janelle’s second chapter, she runs into Judianne in the restroom and tries to find common ground in their shared insecurities. She states, “I feel like that every time I look in the mirror,” and Judianne commiserates until she sees another classmate, which prompts her to cut off their mutual reflection: “Look, I am nothing like you, okay?” (72). When Janelle is alone again, she rejects Judianne’s assertion in the bathroom mirror, using her reflection to talk herself up. On the next page, she shares the poem “Mirror, Mirror” and directs her mirror self-talk to Judianne, opening with “Sisters under the skin, / we meet in the mirror / our images superimposed” (74). Here, she uses mirror imagery to reinforce their similarities and share struggles. She also asserts that “smash[ing] the mirror” doesn’t change the truth of their commonality (74)—the mirror is only a representation of the real world.