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Chapter 21
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 sits with Malik and calls Aunt Pooh. Pooh arrives a few minutes later with Scrap. They both have their guns out and look angry. Bri explains it was the Crown who heckled them at the Ring. At this, Malik looks even more upset. Pooh's fury intensifies when she learns that they took Lawless's chain—which Scrap says the Crowns have wanted for years—and that the Crown pointed a gun at Bri. Pooh starts to lead them all to her car, but Malik says he'll walk the few blocks home. He's furious when Bri asks him to not tell Aunt 'Chelle about this, especially when he guesses that Bri and Pooh are going to pursue the Crown. Bri is too focused on the chain to care.
Though Bri has every right to be scared, confused, and focused on the loss of the chain, it's a major blow to Malik that Bri doesn't seem to care much that they could've died (and that Malik himself got punched)—and furthermore, that Bri seems more than ready to follow Pooh on a mission to kill the Crown. In Malik's eyes, this version of Bri looks like all of the worst parts of her song, and it's a Bri that he doesn't know and for that matter, doesn't want to know.
Themes
Pooh and Scrap discuss the Crown and Bri figures they're all going to where they know he hangs out, but Pooh stops at Bri's house and tells her to lay low. She refuses to let Bri come with her, pointing out that Bri might get shot or arrested. It hits Bri that Pooh could be shot or arrested, and she immediately regrets involving her. She tries to convince Pooh to leave this alone and asks Pooh to not kill the Crown, but Pooh points out that Bri called her instead of Jay, Trey, or the cops for a reason. Pooh drives away and Bri realizes that she called Pooh because she needs Pooh, not because she needed Pooh to handle this.
When Bri realizes that she needed Pooh, not the Garden Disciples and the associated violence, it impresses upon Bri and the reader how alone she feels right now. Pooh heading off to get the Crown makes Bri feel even more isolated, as now she's inadvertently put Pooh in danger, something she never intended to do. All of this also impresses upon Bri that her words do matter. They're not just words; she can't always control what people do with them.
Themes
Bri steps inside and is relieved when Jay doesn't look around the corner at her, as she knows Jay would know something is up. Bri calls out that she ate at Malik's and shuts herself in her room. She thinks that she did want the Crown dead, but now, she understands that the Crown will die just like Lawless did. The Crown's wife and parents will cry like Jay, Grandma, and Granddaddy did, and his children will suffer. The neighborhood will treat him like a heroic martyr and Pooh will become the murderous villain. Bri will lose Pooh. Bri sobs into her hands.
By thinking of the Crown's potential death as being a lot like Lawless's, Bri is able to see that gang violence doesn't do anyone any favors—even if it might feel like revenge for Pooh, she'll still end up in jail and won't be around to protect Bri from the escalation that may come from something like this. In humanizing the Crown's family, Bri begins to see them as truly human, not just an evil "other."
Themes
Bri barely sleeps all night. She thinks of what she asked Pooh to do and texts Pooh if she's okay. Pooh never responds. Bri snaps awake in the morning to find Jay sitting with her. Jay says that Bri has been tossing all night. Bri is shocked when Jay asks if Bri is upset about Emily Taylor's petition. Bri starts to wonder if Taylor was right and her words are dangerous. Jay leads Bri to the kitchen and offers to make French toast, but when Bri opens the fridge, it's warm and dark. Jay flips switches but nothing happens. Trey wakes up and Jay says the power is off. She moans that the food she bought will spoil, and Bri regrets not selling the chain.
One of the ways that Jay makes Bri feel safer and more secure is by checking on her often at night. It's one of the many ways that she attempts to make up for leaving Bri. Discovering that the electricity is off—and that it's not off because Jay consciously decided not to pay it, like with the gas—suggests that financially, Jay and the family are totally out of control. At this point, it doesn't even matter that Jay bought food if she can't cook it or safely store it.
Themes
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