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Chapter 8
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 Sunday morning, Bri spends a long time in the bathroom thinking about how Pooh never came back to the recording session. Scrap walked Bri home after Doc polished the song and put it on a jump drive. Pooh sometimes disappears like this and then comes back like nothing happened, and though Bri knows it's for the best since Pooh does horrible things with the Garden Disciples, she's still upset that Pooh left. Bri wishes Pooh had been there to critique the lines and wishes she were here now to tell her what to do with the file. She thinks of a video she found online of Long and Tate pinning her down, and thinks that she already feels too exposed to post the song.
Bri's monologue here shows clearly that she craves guidance and support from the adult figures in her life. This is important to keep in mind going forward, especially once Bri starts to strike out on her own and suffers for it. This suggests that Bri understands that given her age and her inexperience, she does need someone to help her figure out how to behave and what to do to make fame happen—anything Bri does by herself that works will be mostly by accident.
Themes
Trey pokes his head in to hurry Bri and they head outside to the car to go to church. Jay sternly tells them to ignore the people who will want to talk about how she lost her job and looks right at Bri as she does. They park and go inside. Jay greets Pastor Eldridge as though nothing is wrong, but neither Bri nor Trey allow him to hug them. They take their usual pew in the back and when Bri sees Deacon Turner, she flips him off. He isn't wearing his glasses and so waves in return. Sonny's family hasn't been to church since Deacon Turner said that hugging boys makes them gay.
Flipping Deacon Turner off—while inarguably rude—shows that Bri is extremely loyal to her friends and in that regard, knows who she is and will speak out to support others also living life as they truly are. The way that Jay talks to Bri reminds the reader that Bri has a reputation for being mouthy and quick to anger, hence choosing to flip someone off in the middle of church.
Themes
Jay watches Grandma and her friends as Granddaddy comes to greet his family. Granddaddy gets a kiss from Bri and then insults Trey's haircut. He asks Jay how they're doing, and she and Trey insist they're handling it. Granddaddy insults Trey's job, and Bri tells the reader that Granddaddy is the sort to think the current generation doesn't want to work. He doesn't understand that Trey can't find anything but his current job. He gives Jay a few $20 bills, insisting that Lawless would want Jay to take it.
The way that Granddaddy speaks to Trey suggests that Granddaddy is very far removed from current economic realities, in which a degree isn't a guarantee of a job—and as a young black man, Trey has things stacked against him even more than other young people. Granddaddy does show, however, that he's generous and does care about his family—he just doesn't always know how to show it verbally.
Themes
Grandma appears and tells Jay to not waste the money, and Bri notes that Grandma is stuck-up. Grandma invites Bri to sit with her, and since Bri alternates weeks sitting with Jay and her grandparents to keep the peace, she agrees. In the second pew, Grandma insists that Bri looks tired and skinny, insulting Jay as she does so. She picks at Bri's braids, which she says are a mess, and tells Bri she can come home. Bri tells the reader that Grandma still acts like Bri is just visiting with Jay. Because Bri knows how hard Jay worked to get custody, Bri says she wants to stay with Jay.
It's telling that Bri feels like she needs to alternate sitting with Jay and her grandparents specifically to keep the peace. This is a big responsibility for a child, even a teenager, and it reminds the reader that Bri already feels as though she has to take on far more than a teenager should in order to keep her family functioning smoothly. Grandma is mostly the one at fault here; her picking at Jay makes Bri feel like she has no choice but to stubbornly stand up for her mother.
Themes
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Sister Daniels, Grandma's church enemy and Curtis's grandmother, walks over. The women hug and compliment each other, though they both know their compliments are insults. Sister Daniels asks Bri how she is and says she heard what happened at school. Bri glares at Curtis as Sister Daniels gives Grandma the basic strokes of the incident with Long and Tate and suggests that Bri was trying to help Jay by selling candy. Conspiratorially, Sister Daniels suggests that Pastor Eldridge let Jay go because she's back on drugs. Grandma doesn't seem surprised, but Bri insists that Jay isn't on drugs. Bri thinks about it for a moment and realizes it's possible, but thinks that Jay probably wouldn't do that.
When Bri recognizes that it's entirely possible that Jay could be back on drugs, it shows that she still doesn't entirely trust Jay to stay sober and in her life as a functioning parent. Again, this gives the reader the sense that Bri is juggling all sorts of anxieties and trying to stay afloat amidst all of it. She doesn't feel entirely safe and secure in her world because of that, which in turn makes it harder for Bri to concentrate in school and makes her even more desperate to gain independence by pursuing rapping.
Themes
When church is over four hours later, everyone files down to the basement to eat. Grandma is serving, so Bri is last in line. She hears Curtis's voice in her ear calling her "Princess" and asking if she got in trouble, and she rams her elbow back into his stomach. They insult each other and Curtis says he was being a good grandson by keeping Sister Daniels in the loop. When Bri asks him if he thinks what happened is funny, he stops smirking, says it's not funny, and says he's tired of Long and Tate assuming things about them. He says that they'll get revenge one day, but Bri points out that if something bad happens, things are going to get way worse for the black kids at school.
Curtis shows here that he's more than just an obnoxious kid on the bus: he's also conscious of the ways in which he and other black kids have to work harder just to safely exist at school, and the weight of being conscious of that is hard for him to hold onto. While he does have a bit of an attitude when he insists he had to tell Sister Daniels about the incident, this does show that Curtis is loyal to his family members and wants to do what's necessary to care for them.
Themes
Curtis tells Bri that there's a rumor at school that Bri is selling drugs on campus. He tells her to remember that she didn't do anything wrong, which makes Bri laugh. She says it's funny that Curtis acts like he cares, but Curtis bites his lip and says he does care about her. Bri is shocked. Their eyes meet as he grabs a plate and Sister Daniels starts to serve salad.
In this moment, Curtis becomes human to Bri in a way he hasn't been before, something that helps both of them begin to come of age. This shows Bri that she has more allies than she thought, and Curtis's mature behavior suggests he's leaving behind his less desirable habits.
Themes
