52 pages • 1 hour read
Nikki GrimesBronx Masquerade
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2002A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 1-8Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary: “Wesley ‘Bad Boy’ Boone”
Content Warning: This guide discusses domestic violence, sexual assault, slavery, attempted robbery, bullying, child abuse, and death due to drug use.
Wesley is a student in Mr. Ward’s English class who has struggled to turn in work in the past. Nonetheless, he wants to graduate, though he doesn’t know what he’ll do with his life. He introduces his friend, another student in the class named Tyrone, who wants to become a rapper. Wesley and Tyrone are both more interested in school now because of Mr. Ward’s class and the work they’re doing on the Harlem Renaissance.
After studying the Harlem Renaissance for a month, Mr. Ward assigns the class an essay on the topic, and Wesley thinks it’s silly to write an essay about poetry. Instead, he writes poetry himself, and Mr. Ward has him read it in front of the class. Wesley describes it as a nerve-wracking but ultimately positive experience, and he inspires his classmates. Mr. Ward agrees to let the students read their poems the next day, though he still wants Wesley to write an essay.
Chapter 2 Summary: “Tyrone Bittings”
Tyrone starts his chapter by saying “School ain’t nothing but a joke” and that his friends are the only reason he shows up (21). Calling out racism and discrimination, Tyrone dismisses white people’s call for students like him to think about their futures, asking what he has to look forward to given the circumstances surrounding him, his family, and community. He shares that he lost his father at age 30 to gun violence—even though he was an active father, he still became “[a]nother statistic in a long line of drive-bys” (21). Tyrone isn’t hopeful that he’ll have a long future.
One day in class, Mr. Ward recites a Dylan Thomas poem, and Tyrone notes that it sounds like rap. He asks Mr. Ward if he can read one of his poems, and Mr. Ward tells him to bring it on Friday, establishing the first “Open Mike Friday” (22). Tyrone finds his old raps and brings them to class, reflecting that he’s passionate about songwriting and can envision a future for himself as a rapper.
Tyrone’s poem, “Attendance,” introduces a few other students through the frame of a teacher taking attendance. Tyrone’s poem also addresses social issues taking place in their lives outside of school, from MTV to terrorism, racism, street violence, and police brutality. He ends the poem with a call to love and end hatred and discrimination, stating that poetry can be the ultimate salve.
Chapter 3 Summary: “Chankara Troupe”
Chankara rushes past Tyrone and reveals why she’s wearing sunglasses inside: She was hit in the face by a boy named Johnny, and she is trying to conceal her bruises. Her friends, Porscha and Sheila, tell her she deserves better. Chankara senses that other girls are looking at her, and she becomes defiant, removing her sunglasses and thinking “Might as well stare all you want. This is the first and last time you’ll ever see me like this” (25). However, she acknowledges that abuse is not so easy to escape. Her sister is a survivor of domestic violence, and she doesn’t want that to be her own story.
The night before, Johnny tried undressing and touching Chankara without her consent. She said no, and when he tried to force her, she hit him in the face. He hit her back, and she kicked him out of her apartment. Like Tyrone, Chankara attempts to find the silver lining, saying, “Besides, the bruise is temporary and so is the pain” (26). She reflects that she knows more than she did yesterday, that she and other girls and women do not deserve to be abused.
In her poem, “Bruised Love,” Chankara describes encountering her sister in the kitchen and seeing the bruises her boyfriend gave her. Now 15, Chankara has known about the harsh effects of domestic violence since age 10. Emboldened by her knowledge of what love is and is not, Chankara ends the poem with, “I’ve got no use / for lame excuses / or imitation love […]” (27).
Chapter 4 Summary: “Tyrone”
Tyrone reflects on Chankara’s poem and shares that his father used to hit his mom, which scared him. He is surprised by the memory, thinking, “Damn, I ain’t thought about that in years” (29). He appreciates Chankara’s poem and vulnerability. No one in the class wanted to follow her. He ends the chapter with his own declaration against domestic violence, determined to write a rap about abusers called “Little Men.”
Chapter 5 Summary: “Raul Ramirez”
Raul is eating lunch near Chankara and notes that her bruises have faded. He thinks about “squash[ing] the cockroach” who hit her (30).
He is an artist, calling himself a “painter-poet,” and after lunch, he rushes to Mr. Ward’s room, where he paints at Mr. Ward’s desk. Other students trickle into his story. Raynard often helps him clean up the paint and brushes. Tyrone observes, and Raul remembers a conversation when Tyrone admired Raul’s art but told him he’d never make money doing it. This sentiment is shared by Raul’s brothers who laugh at him because he dreams of being an artist.
Money, making a living, the impact of art, and Raul’s dreams of becoming a poet and painter, are woven into this chapter. He reflects on his cultural ties to art and poetry as a Puerto Rican in New York, imagining himself onstage at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and discussing how other artists in his family could not pursue art. He addresses his brothers’ misconception that because of his race, he won’t achieve his dreams.
Like Tyrone, Raul is concerned with negative stereotypes, racism, and discrimination. He shares, “I want to show the beauty of our people, that we are not all banditos like they show on TV” (32) and thinks about dancing, music, and his mother’s love.
“Zorro,” Raul’s poem, delves into racial discrimination. He uses Zorro and acting as a metaphor for living as a Puerto Rican in a white man’s world. Raul shares that he understands his “role” but would rather step outside of it and be himself, neither “Zorro or el bandito” (33). He affirms his true self while showcasing how society and the media often depict people like him.
Chapter 6 Summary: “Tyrone”
In this short chapter, Tyrone comments on Raul’s poem. He agrees that what society says about people of color is not always true: “Forget who white folks think you are, ‘cause they ain’t got a clue” (34). He also jokes that he didn’t know Raul “knew that much English” (34).
Chapter 7 Summary: “Diondra Jordan”
Diondra admires Raul’s bravery, citing his self-portrait that he left on Mr. Ward’s desk for the whole class to see. Diondra remarks that she wishes she had the courage to paint a self-portrait and, even more so, share it with others. She comments on Raul’s care for his poem, which showed signs of revision—a stark contrast to his homework assignments.
She loves to draw and paint, and her mother encourages her art but her father does not—he wishes she were a boy and that she played basketball. As the tallest girl in school, others expect that too, but she is not an athlete. She hides her artistic side for fear of ridicule, but she fantasizes about painting herself at an easel with a basketball jersey in a trash can next to her.
Diondra’s poem, “If,” carries her concerns about being mocked for who she is and what she likes to do. It carries a refrain of variations of “would you laugh?” She describes, through metaphor, majestic acts of painting, sculpting, and drawing with and through the natural world. She asks her listeners if they would laugh or enjoy her talents.
Chapter 8 Summary: “Tyrone”
Tyrone notes that Diondra was nervous, spoke quickly, and her hands were shaking while she shared her poem. He shouted encouragement to her. A few other students shared their poems for the first time and were nervous but made it through.
Chapters 1-8 Analysis
Grimes’s multi-genre and polyvocal novel alternates between prose and poetry. It begins with five distinct voices—Wesley, Tyrone, Chankara, Raul, and Diondra—whose stories intertwine. In their first-person narrations and poems, each demonstrates feelings of both dispossession and hope. Wesley begins the book by proclaiming the power of poetry and the impact of Black artistic legacies, introducing the theme of The Power of Art through his ode to Langston Hughes. In connecting Wesley to Hughes, Grimes situates him as a leader; Hughes is considered the father of the Harlem Renaissance, and likewise, Wesley’s decision to write a poem instead of an essay opens up Mr. Ward’s class as a venue for artistic expression. Each chapter involves the first-person narrator reflecting on the poem or character that preceded their chapter, drawing inspiration from their classmates. Through this, Grimes explores how Self-Discovery and Community Building are mutually dependent.
Tyrone is characterized through his role as a commentator—he has the unique position of reflecting directly on each poem after it is shared. He is shown to be introspective, a jokester, and an encouraging figure for his peers, engaging with their poetry and encouraging his shyer classmates. In providing an outside perspective on each student through Tyrone, Grimes expands their characterizations as well, as their first-person perspectives are inherently limiting. Additionally, Tyrone’s commentary reflects the way art impacts not only the artist but also the audience, as each poem makes him reflect on his situation and society.
While Mr. Ward is not an active presence in these chapters, he is indirectly characterized by his students. Most importantly, he creates a space where his students can express themselves through Open Mike Fridays and his classroom gallery wall, where students can hang their artwork in paper frames. Raul mentions that Mr. Ward leaves paint and brushes in his classroom for the students to use—a step beyond his role as an English teacher that reflects an investment in his students’ creativity. Each of these actions reinforces the value of creative spaces for youth.
Grimes’s decision to tell the story through the eyes and experiences of these students reflects the myriad experiences youth face. Pervasive in these first chapters are feelings of being limited by circumstance, but each student is courageous enough to share their stories. These stories highlight both the positive and negative aspects of the setting—New York City in 2002—from post-9/11 fears of terrorism and gang violence to the vibrant intercultural community in Harlem. Additionally, the students are navigating personal struggles, like Tyrone’s father’s death, Chankara’s experiences with domestic violence and abuse, and Raul and Diondra’s dreams of being artists despite familial resistance. Each narrator, through poetry, ends their chapter more empowered and emboldened than they began it. This includes characters Embracing Racial and Cultural Identities and overcoming bias. For example, Raul’s poem expresses pride in his Puerto Rican identity, even if the media presents negative stereotypes.
The students actively create a positive environment that allows their peers to be vulnerable. Diondra’s nervousness is noticed, but as Tyrone notes, sharing poems in front of the class is “progress.” The ridicule that she fears does not materialize; rather, she gains confidence, and her classmates demonstrate understanding and empathy. In this way, Grimes indicates that fears and doubts won’t stand in the face of artistic expression. The book’s use of poetry and prose allows the characters’ full selves to unfold. The poems are bridges between the prose sections that allow the characters to connect without the usual use of dialogue in fiction. This form allows the characters to share their thoughts about themselves and each other.
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