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 and Curtis are in Bri's room, studying for the ACT. Bri suggests they take a break and Curtis kisses her. From the doorway, Trey points out that they're not studying, and says that he'll drive home from grad school to beat up Curtis if need be. Bri reminds Trey that he's late to pick up Jojo for a basketball game, and Trey leaves. Bri and Curtis kiss again, but Mom interrupts them. She asks Bri for her opinion on which outfit to wear on her first day as Dr. Cook's secretary. Bri tells the reader that he wants her to spearhead finding new security and organize meetings with the Black and Latinx Coalition.
The fact that both Bri and Curtis are studying suggests that Curtis is also college-bound—and it indicates that Bri is at least trying to apply herself to her studies like Jay wants her to do. Dr. Cook's first orders of business for Jay show that there's going to be positive change at Midtown, hopefully making the school safer for all students and especially the students of color.
Themes
Bri gets a call from Sonny and puts him on speaker. Miles is there too. Sonny tells Bri to get on Twitter; someone big posted her freestyle video. Bri sees that she has over 100 notifications and people keep retweeting one tweet. Bri stares at the photo and the name. The tweet reads that Bri is the future of hip-hop, and invites her to collaborate on a song. Mom looks over Bri's shoulder and asks if she wants to do it. Bri says she does, as long as she can do it on her terms.
Leaving out the name of this famous rapper at the end allows readers to insert whichever artist they want, which helps the novel remain relevant and feel current going forward. Being approached like this shows Bri that she can make fame work on her own terms if she stays true to herself and lets her family and friends in to help her.
Themes
