Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in On the Come Up, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Identity and Individuality
Racism and Prejudice
Trauma, Poverty, and Childhood
Control, Image, and Fame
Summary
Analysis
Bri thinks about what Miles said about being himself as she arrives at church the next day. Kayla is with Trey, as he recently introduced her to Jay as his girlfriend. Bri finds the church ladies obnoxious and sits down when Jay stops her from yelling at one of them. Sister Daniels and Curtis arrive and Bri sits up straight. Curtis heads right for Bri and compliments how she looks. He suggests they leave school and get lunch for their date. Bri feels someone watching her and sees Jay and Trey staring. She realizes she doesn't care about the teasing. Curtis kisses her cheek.
Hearing Miles say that Supreme is bad news is very different from hearing it from Jay or even Trey. Miles is a peer, which means that he's in the exact same place developmentally as Bri is and is therefore more relatable for her. He’s also Supreme’s son, which gives him an insider’s perspective.
Themes
Bri heads over to Jay, Trey, and Kayla, smiling so hard it hurts. They take their seats in the pews and Grandma and Granddaddy come over. Bri and Trey are surprised to learn that there's a family dinner at their grandparents' house after church. Bri realizes that Grandma isn't glaring or being rude to Jay, and asks if Granddaddy is dying.
Remember that Bri has a bad habit of jumping to conclusions. This suggests that what's going on here rings all of Bri's alarm bells, as it reminds her of bad things that have happened in the past—another way that Bri has to constantly battle with her demons.
Themes
Bri still has no idea what's going on when they arrive at Grandma and Granddaddy's house. She almost feels the way she did when Jay left her years ago. Jay promises that they're going to talk about good things with Grandma and Granddaddy. Bri hates that she still feels like a scared five-year-old inside, even though she knows Jay isn't going to leave her. Softly, Jay says that leaving Bri and Trey was the hardest day of her life, and she still hears their screams. She apologizes again to Bri, both for leaving and for Bri's nightmares, which she knows about because Bri talks in her sleep. Bri tries to apologize, but Jay cuts her off and says that she promises to be here for Bri.
The admission that she still feels as though she's five years old and about to be left makes it abundantly clear that Bri is still struggling to remind herself that the trauma she experienced is in the past and isn't likely to happen again. Learning that Jay knew about the nightmares shows Bri that she doesn't need to do so much to take care of Jay, as Jay is able to circumvent these attempts and care for Bri anyway.
Themes
Bri thinks that she'll never know why Jay chose drugs over her, but she does know that Jay will always love her. She calls Jay, "Mom." Jay's eyes get wet, but she kisses Bri and leads her inside. Granddaddy is in the backyard working on a pickup truck and Grandma is in the kitchen. Grandma allows “Mom” to help with the cooking—making Bri wonder if Grandma is an alien—though Bri isn't allowed to help. Kayla and Trey arrive. Trey goes to talk with Granddaddy, and Grandma refuses to let Kayla help cook.
Calling Jay "Mom" shows that Bri is now ready to reaffirm her relationship with Jay and begin to truly heal from her past trauma. Grandma allowing Jay to help in the kitchen suggests that she's decided to do the same thing in her relationship with Jay, something that will benefit everyone.
Themes
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Bri slips away and goes to her old room. It's filled with Tweety Bird stuff. Bri throws herself on the bed and thinks that she's spent lots of time here with Malik, Sonny, Trey, and her grandparents, but none with Mom. Mom and Trey knock and come in, and Mom looks around at the stuffed Tweety Birds. She says that she hasn't been in this room since it was Lawless's, and Trey gives Mom a hard time about having had sex in this room. Bri squeals.
In this moment, Bri acknowledges the time and the experiences that she missed out on with her mom. While it's true that Jay (now referred to as Mom) missed out on innumerable important moments with her daughter, Bri and Mom are also at a point where they can move forward and focus on the moments to come, not the missed ones of the past.
Themes
Mom calls Bri and Trey to attention, but before she can begin, Trey asks why Mom and Grandma aren't fighting. Mom says they spoke and are willing to set their differences aside for Bri and Trey. She announces that they're going to move in with Grandma and Granddaddy until she can get back on her feet, and she tells Trey that he doesn't need to support them anymore—he can go to grad school. Trey argues, but Mom tells him to go after his dream. Bri's chest aches; she wants to chase her dreams too. Trey tells Mom that she has to let Bri go after her rap dreams. Mom says that she can't let Supreme manipulate Bri so that she ends up like Lawless. Bri looks up and says that she's not Lawless.
The choice to put aside differences with her in-laws shows that everyone involved in this decision has decided to be an adult and act like it—remember that Grandma is known for behaving rudely and insinuating that Mom is an unfit mother. Like Bri, Mom will have to work to let go of this part of their past and look forward to the future, but being willing to work on it will offer the entire family hope as they move forward into the future.
Themes
Bri admits that she doesn't like what Supreme wants her to do and be, but she wants to try to make it. Trey supports Bri and says that it doesn't matter what happened to Lawless: Bri is “smarter than that.” Mom agrees with this, and Bri softly asks Mom if she'd act like it, then, since nobody else does. Mom closes her eyes and says that Bri can perform at the Ring, but she's done if she acts like a fool, and Supreme can't be her manager. Bri agrees. Granddaddy calls them for dinner. Bri stays in her room and thinks that she might be okay.
Bri's ability to say that she's not Lawless and won't make the same mistakes shows her finally coming of age as an individual. Now that she is starting to know who she is, she sees that she's not a repeat of her dad. She can be and do better by relying on the trusted people around her, as well as by remembering that she has important things to say—things she can't say with Supreme.
Themes
Grandma tells the table everything she learned about Kayla while Bri, Trey, and Mom were upstairs. Kayla is rapping and studying marketing. Grandma latches onto Kayla saying she's independent, but doesn't understand what that means in the music world. As Bri banters with Granddaddy, she thinks that she's starting to know who she is. She sees bits of herself in all of her family members.
By refocusing her identity on how she relates to her family, Bri begins to see herself as part of this larger family unit instead of someone who has to keep the peace by trading weeks with each faction at church. Though it likely won't be easy, Bri will hopefully now be better able to draw on people who love her to help her.
Themes
