Good Food from Cheap Ingredients

Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory

Black asks White why French chefs like to cook, "Sweetbreads. Tripe. Brains. All that s*** they dont nobody eat"(100), and White says it's probably because they like a challenge, to which Black replies, "You pretty smart for a cracker."

This might seem like pointless banter to kill time in the middle part of the play, however, as dedicated researchers into the literary depths, we're not settling for that. Black calls White a "challenge" at times, and says that he likes a challenge himself—since he lives surrounded by crime and by drug addicts (whom he attempts to help).

Black might be implying that in God's eyes, humanity is a challenge—especially people like White. God wouldn't have any fun if he didn't have to resuscitate humanity from the lowest lows back up to the highest highs. Figuratively speaking, this isn't entirely different from trying to prepare a delicious meal out of tripe or brains.