Analysis Of Bronx Masquerade

The character, Devon Hope, introduces in his poem, Bronx Masquerade, the idea that he and many of his classmates are living behind disguises rather than being their true selves. Devon is a prime example of this notion as he even goes by a nickname, Jump shot, at school and in his neighborhood that he does not feel represents him as a whole person. Though he is a great basketball player, that is not all he wants to be known for and much too often he is painted into that corner. He expresses this in his monologue by saying, “I’ve got good height and good hands, that’s a fact. But what about the rest of me? Forget who I really am, who I really want to be. The law is to be cool, be tough, play ball, and use books for weight training—not reading” …show more content…
Ward assigns the Harlem Renaissance. He is feels a freedom then to carry around his volumes of Langston Hughes and Claude McKay. This feeling is further confirmed when he is caught reading 3000 Years of Black Poetry by one of this classmates, Janelle, who rather than saying something rude to him, she smiles and waves at him. She even “slips a copy of The Panther & the Lash” on his table as she walks by (Grimes 31). This happens to be one of his favorite books by Langston Hughes so Janelle has, without words, told him that she understands who he is outside of basketball and that person is worth knowing. After discovering that at least one person likes him for his true self, he is able to take off the mask of basketball player. In a conversation with his friend from the team, Mike, he openly admits to reading poetry for fun. The conversation is transforming for Devon because he is able to stand up for himself and says afterward “Forget this. Tonight our team plays Bronx Science. When I get on the bus with the rest of the guys, I’m taking a copy of Baraka’s book with me to read, and I’m gonna make sure everybody sees it. Especially Mike” (Grimes …show more content…
Janelle is an intelligent young lady that happens to be overweight, and everyone goes out of their way to let her know it, including calling her “Battle of the Bulge” behind her back (Grimes 48). She is sweet and kind to her friends but is not appreciated by most of her classmates because they never take the time to get to know her and rarely think of the damage that their harsh comments cause. Janelle is trapped behind an image that does not represent who she truly is, but when she is up on the stage at Open Mike Night, she can act herself. Janelle describes it in saying “you can become somebody else, and you can say anything, as long as it’s in a poem” (Grimes 47). In this way, the act of going on stage and reading poetry is like her being able to put on a mask that hides her while she expresses her deepest thoughts and emotions. For Devon, the mask in public was not himself, yet Janelle is only able to be herself in public with the mask