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Chapter 9
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
On Wednesday, Bri's first day back to school, she asks Sonny on the bus if Curtis is cute. Sonny is shocked and confused, but says that nobody is as good-looking as Michael B. Jordan from Black Panther. He amends this to say that Curtis is cute like rodents are cute. Bri has been thinking about whether or not Curtis is cute since Sunday, as he has the body type she likes but he's also obnoxious. Bri tells Sonny what happened at church, and Sonny points out that it's ridiculous that she suddenly likes Curtis now that he's started treating her like she's a real person.
While Sonny has a point—all people deserve to be treated with respect and listened to when they experience something like Bri did—his assessment of Curtis suggests that he still sees Curtis as an obnoxious classmate, not a viable romantic candidate for his best friend. Again, the fact that Bri is beginning to reevaluate her own assumptions shows that she's beginning to come of age.
Themes
Sonny asks Bri if she ended up recording her song, and he asks to listen to it. Bri hesitates, as she knows she's a different person when she raps, but she pulls "On the Come Up" up on her phone and gives it to him. She wonders how professional rappers get over the nervousness of sharing their work. Sonny nods along and praises Bri, and Deon joins in. Sonny turns the volume all the way up and dances, and everyone on the bus nods along. When they get to the line about Long and Tate and Bri confirms that it's about them, everyone goes wild.
Keep in mind that everyone on the bus listening to Bri's song is black. The song is for them; they're the ones who experience the same kind of horrible things that Bri did and suffer at the hands of prejudiced white people, so they understand what Bri is talking about and get her point. This is important, as later, others will see very different things in Bri's song—but those people will be white.
Themes
Bri is ecstatic until they get to school. She knows that Long and Tate aren't working right now, but she's worried about the rumors and the stares. Bri takes Sonny's arm and notices how many kids look at her. Sonny admits that he's been talking to a guy online, which successfully distracts Bri. He says the guy's screen name is Rapid, and Bri immediately begins to look for his profiles. Sonny explains that Rapid follows Sonny's anonymous account where he posts pictures of his graffiti, and they've been talking for weeks. Worriedly, Sonny says they haven't exchanged pictures, but Bri says this is normal. Sonny says he'd like a relationship, but he has too much at stake with getting into college, where he won't have to worry about gangs and homophobia. Bri insists that Sonny can have a relationship too.
Because of his sexuality, Sonny has more and different things to worry about than Bri does—though it's worth pushing back on Sonny's insistence that simply being in college will solve this problem for him. While it's true that he'll likely have access to more support and community and be in a more accepting environment, Sonny will always be at risk, no matter where he is. This offers up the possibility that all young Garden Heights residents who want to go to college idealize it to a degree, and the realities of college can't actually stand up to what the students expect.
Themes
Bri and Sonny get in line for security. There are new guards, but Bri still feels sick and shaky. She doesn't want the guards to assume she has anything and stares at the spot where her face hit the ground. The guard waves Bri through and Sonny continues talking to Bri as though things are normal. Suddenly, a white boy shouts, "free Long and Tate." He and his friends laugh, Sonny insults them, and Bri pulls Sonny away. They meet up with Malik at Malik's locker, where Sonny says that Bri's song is awesome. Malik smiles at Bri, making her melt inside. She agrees that he can listen to the song at lunch and they decide to get pizza at Sal's together while Sonny attends SAT prep. Bri wonders if this is a date.
This white boy makes it abundantly clear that there are vocally racist students at Bri's school. In particular, though nothing physical happens here, this can be read as an implicit threat of violence—or at the very least, that this boy expects that at some point, the black students will be "put in their place." This reminds the reader that school isn't a safe place for Bri or the other black students. They constantly have to be on guard for things like this that might compromise their safety or get them into trouble.
Themes
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