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Chapter 52
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Bronx Masquerade, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Poetry, Healing, and Identity
Race and Prejudice
The Value of Community
Growing Up and Familial Expectations
Summary
Analysis
During attendance for Mr. Ward’s class, Sheila asks Mr. Ward to call her “Natalina” from now on, which she refers to as her “Africana name.” Most of the Black students in the class roll their eyes at Sheila. Sheila is Italian, and the other students don’t appreciate her trying to seem Black. When she grows up, Sheila wants to be a social worker and, in particular, she wants to help people from marginalized communities. She comes from a racist family and knows the harm that racism causes in society. Still, she is proud of her Italian heritage and wants a name that reflects it. In retrospect, she realizes that she is not looking for an “Africana name,” but rather one that reflects her own heritage. She clarifies her request to Mr. Ward after class, and he promises to call her Natalina from now on.
Although Sheila is not trying to be offensive, her desire to take a new name—and thus a new identity—elicits an eye roll from her classmates because they think she is trying to appropriate Black culture. Sheila has good intentions but is overcompensating for prejudices of her family and is coming off as ignorant herself. Mr. Ward sees what Sheila means and does not consider it his duty to question his student’s identity any more than is necessary. He knows that through her interactions with the class, Sheila will learn and discover the positives and negatives of what it means to take on a new identity.
Active
Themes
