Sun 2/7/10 Black and White

Black and White by Paul Volponi was a book that really made an impact on me because I tutored a young black man from Newark for several years who used to assist a drug dealer in order to get some extra money. He was a really sweet young man who found himself in some difficult situations. Luckily, there were other circumstances in his life (an educational trust fund set up for him by his late father) so once he got accepted into college, he was able to get out of Newark and start a whole new life for himself. Marcus was not so lucky - he was caught and had to pay the price for his crime.

I was impressed by the maturity of Marcus' character. He really matured throughout the novel and took responsibility for his poor choices. I was disappointed in the character of Eddie who ran away from the consequences of the crime he committed. Both boys were in the car and they both made bad decisions. Marcus was the one who was identified and the one who came from a family with less money. While I was reading this book, I was wondering if Eddie had been the one who had been identified, if Marcus would have acted the same way - avoiding his friend and trying to look innocent. I was also wondering how it would have been different if Marcus was the one who came from money, and Eddie was the one who lived in the projects. Poverty level definitely had something to do with Marcus taking the plea bargain. His mom had to have her sister's put up their houses just to get bail money - they had no extra money for a "good" lawyer. Ms. Torres, the DA, was his only opportunity for representation. He is lucky he got someone who worked out such a short prison term for him. Eddie, on the other hand, held more responsibility in the crime and had a better chance of getting off with out any consequences. I found it interesting that Mr. Parker, a black man, could identify Marcus (who was sitting in the back seat) but not Eddie who was sitting next to him and holding the weapon. I wondered if the victim had been white if he would have been able to identify Eddie and not Marcus.

The different viewpoints and the varying fonts from chapter to chapter was a very clever way to show the two different viewpoints in the novel. This was a way for the reader to experience both boys through their own minds. I think this was also how we could see the division of Marcus and Eddie's friendship. I loved watching Marcus accept the mistakes that he made and face the consequences with a brave face. Eddie, on the other hand, refused to step up and admit his guilt in the crime, and the burden showed on him for everyone to see - including Marcus. "But there was no way he could keep up, dragging everything around with him." Marcus was going off to jail, but he deserved to - he was a good kid, but he made some poor choices. He just got lucky that Mr. Parker didn't die.

Once again, I was happy to see loving "families" represented in a book about teenagers. In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Junior had his family and his grandmother and his coach and his team to support him. In this book, both Marcus and Eddie have support, but in slightly different ways. Eddie has a family who loves him (although his father doesn't appear to be able to look him in the eye after he realizes his guilt), and his mother and sister. He also has his relationship with Rebecca and some support from the team. The team, made up of mostly young black men, really support Marcus though - especially X and Moses. Marcus also has his mom and sister, Rose, Jefferson and Coach. I think that Coach would have been more supportive of Eddie too, but Eddie didn't confide in him about anything.

I think this book really brought out the discussion of race/ethnicity. Besides the friendship of "Black" and "White" there are the two security guards, the interracial relationship between Rose and Marcus, the difference in team members on the basketball team --- and many other places to start discussions with a class. I would be interested in what younger readers think about the scene where Eddie accepts St. John's scholarship on the night that Marcus was arrested. Was he right in looking after himself? Or should he have been stronger for his friend? And how deep can friendship really go?