Character Clues
Character Analysis
Family Life
As the people you've known since the day you were born, family's bound to have an impact, for better or for worse. And the same is true for all the kids in Mr. Ward's class. Some of them have super supportive parents (like Raul and Sterling); some of them have lost their parents (like Tyrone, Lupe, Leslie, Amy, and Porscha); some of them are battling their parents (like Diondra, Steve, Tanisha, and Judianne); and some of them are just trying not to follow in their family's footsteps (like Chankara, Sheila, and Porscha). All of them, though, are navigating family. And as we come to understand their particular family dynamics, we better understand each character.
Names
Sometimes writers offer up little peeks into characters through their names. This is definitely the case in Bronx Masquerade, so let's go through some of our favorites:
- Tyrone Bittings has a pretty biting attitude at the start of this story, though it softens over time.
- We can't believe Diondra Jordan's parents resisted the urge to name her Michaela Jordan.
- Devon Hope really hopes someone will see him as something other than a basketball star.
- Janelle Battle is always at war with herself over her looks. Poor girl.
- Sterling Hughes's first name implies a sterling reputation. Maybe that's why everyone thinks he's so darn perfect.
- Porscha Johnson – She hates her name. Mostly because of the all the weird jokes people can make. Porscha is a person, not a brand.
Speech and Dialogue
There are really two forms of speech in this book: the kind kids bust out in conversation, and the kind they turn to in their poetry. We're not saying the two forms of speech never intersect, just that the ways kids try to come across to their peers in daily interactions don't always match up with what they reveal about themselves through their poetry.
Take Tyrone and Wesley for example. These two are super into rap music, and they use language you might hear in hip-hop. Thing is, they're not fooling anyone; they might act tough, but their poems show what's really going on inside:
The first time [Tyrone] got up there, I rolled my eyes like half the sisters in class, certain he was going to spout something lame or nasty about girls and sex, or gangsters. I mean, that's all we ever heard him talk about, right? But there was nothing lame about this poem, and none of it was about sex. It was about what's going on in the world, and about trying to make sense of it. It was a poem by somebody who really thinks about things, and that somebody turned out to be Tyrone. (75.13)
When he talks to his buddies in the hall, Tyrone presents himself one way. When he shares his poem, though, a whole different side of him emerges. Considered together, we start to see Tyrone pretty clearly: He wants to fit in and survive, but he's also super thoughtful and a critical thinker.