Character Development in Bronx

    One character in the book that changed was Tyrone. In the beginning Tyrone didn't care about school and didn't see the point to having dreams. He developed from this and seemed to start caring about his future. 

    In the beginning of the book Tyrone seems like a bad person that honestly doesn't care about anything. In the book,"School ain't nothing but a joke." These are the first words that we hear from him and this gives the impression that many important things for us, are not important for him. About mid way through the book there is a notable difference in the way he thinks. For example,"I look around this class and nobody I see fits into the box I used to put them in." This shows that the is starting to look deeper into people and seeing the differences that make them stick out, something he didn't do before. At the end of the book Tyrone is a completely different person and can see how the experience has changed him and the others around him. In the text,"I just wanted to say I'm really glad I got to do this poetry thing because I feel like, even though the people in our class are all different colors and some of you speak different languages and everything, I feel like we're connected." This shows that this experience has changed him. The very fact that he is saying this shows change. The Tyrone from the beginning of the book wouldn't be caught dead saying anything that sentimental. Even if it's not the most spectacular moment in the book, this shows change.

    The different aspects of the story did have an impact on the characters.  If these events did not happen Tyrone probably wouldn't have changed his views. If this story took place in a better neighborhood, the characters wouldn't have had so many problems. If the characters didn't have all these problems they wouldn't have come together and bonded. Finally if the characters didn't know the other characters their lives would have been worse off. The support and realization that they are not alone might not have come to them. These elements make a story, and if they change, the whole of the story changes

Spine poem

"The Secret Twin"

Capture the Castle,

City of Bones,

Out of the Dark,

First Light,

Sweetblood,

Found,

The Secret Twin.

   The message/theme in this poem is that ones past may yet hold secrets. In this poem "City of Bones" refers to ones family records, or a tomb that holds knowledge. The story that I imagined while making this is that a person looks into their family's past and discovers a sibling (a twin) that they were previously unaware of.  This poem made me  wonder what was unknown about my family, and if that is something that can be easily solved.

   The main point in this poem is that we may not know as much about ourselves as we thought. In the poem,"First Light, Sweetblood, Found" This shows that the person had a revelation about their own blood, and that they discovered something. This makes sense considering that we thirst for knowledge, and this often leads us to make astounding findings about ourselves, and those around us.

Found poem

"Troubled"

 You don't seem to hear me.

I can't count on brothers tonight.

But I need to explain

the strain, the dark tone,

troubled.

No, I'm not ready.

Don't let me down.

   The message/theme is, as stated in the title, the person is troubled. The person that this focuses on has problems in their lives, and believes that they are not ready to tell anyone. This relates to the image that I drew because the  person is described as being strained, and often this emotion can lead tears. I also decided to color the background in black because the person's emotions are very dark.

    The main point in this poem is that even those who seem to be depressed can still have hope. as stated in the final line, "Don't let me down." This shows that although they are depressed they still wish to be helped. This also shows that they still hope for things. They wouldn't be able to be let down if they didn't think that their hopes would be accomplished. Thus showing that they still feel hope

"What makes Me, Me"

Bronx Masquerade: Contrasting view points

      We are reading the book "Bronx Masquerade" by Nikki Grimes. We have read to page 73, and up until this point the book is about the different hidden lives that teenagers that live in The Bronx have. The book is split into different chapters, and each chapter is the perspective of a different person. In each chapter the person talks about things that are happening in their lives. After each chapter a poem related to the chapter is presented. Also, after each poem he only clear "main character", Tyrone comments on the poem. They all share this poetry in their English class, which has a slam poetry night very often. This poetry is the way that some of the students reach out and shine a light on what is happening in their lives.

      The first two people that I am going to contrast are Devon and Tyrone. Tyrone sees school as a joke and doesn't see himself as having a future. He also wants to be a rapper and ashes he was more of a jock. For example he says "These white folk talking 'bout some future, telling me I need to be planning for some future - like I got one!" This shows that he doesn't even believe that he should plan for his career because he assumes there won't be one.  Devon on the other hand is a tall and athletic boy who wishes he could read and do all that without being teased. Since he is very good at basket ball he often has to hide his love of books. As it says in the text, "Then once they're out the door, I cut upstairs to the library to sneak a read." This means that he actually likes school unlike Tyrone, and he even is upset that he is put into a category. Meanwhile Tyrone is jealous of him for his sports abilities. For example, "If I had moves like Devon, I'd be cruising crosscourt with Scotty Pippin!" This shows that Tyrone doesn't understand why Devon would be unhappy with his lot, similar to how Devon doesn't understand why Tyrone would want his skills.

      The two other students that I will contrast are Lupe and Gloria. Lupe thinks that having a baby will help her find someone to love and be loved by. She envies her friend Gloria because she has a baby. For example, "…I'm thinking, Gloria you have no idea how lucky you are." This shows that she thinks that her friend is lucky for having a baby, even though she doesn't know the struggles her friend is going through because of the baby. However, Gloria wishes that she could go back and change things. She misses her old life, and she doesn't think that having a baby was (or is) a good idea. As she says, "Fun ain't even in my vocabulary anymore. Once you have a kid, everything changes." This shows that her life has changed drastically and she can no longer be a child the way she used to be.  She also is jealous that Lupe can still have fun and she can't, meanwhile Lupe wishes that she had a baby to feel loved. That both want what the other has, however if they got what they wanted they might realize that they liked their old lives better