Loca En La Cabesa

After completing Bronx Masquerade I am completely in awe of the author's ability to create this simplistic yet intricate plot expressive of the ways in which all of our lives are inextricably tied together. Though each character faced their own, individual battles, whether it be with domestic violence, insecurity with physical aspects of oneself, feeling loca en la cabesa, or suffering a lack of motivation to engross oneself in academics, they each seemed to be bonded to one another through the poetry they shared and comfort of the environment from which this was done. In Jaceline Woodson's aticle "Who Can Tell My Story", she states, "It tells its own story, our language does, and woven through it are all the places we've been, all that we've seen, experience held close, good and bad" (269). I feel like this quote perfectly sums up the significant of, and intent behind Nikki Grimes, Bronx Masquerade; to use one's lanugage and discourse not only to convey an experience through the actually words themselvs but to convey emotions, feelings, and understanding amongst broad populations of students. In essence, to use poetry as a segue or means of forming meaningful relationships based upon shared experiences, backgrounds, or familiar circumstances. In this way, the students within the novel began to see a little bit of themselves in each other. They were able to view their peers not only as the label that they inevitably carried, but as unique individuals possesive of qualities much deeper than surface level facades. Through Grimes piece, she was able to communicate the importance and fragility of our lives and demonstrate the ways in which we are all linked whether it be through our shared experiences, or collective emotions felt at one point in time or another. Rather than robottically viewing individuals deriving from diverse cultures as adversaries, we are painted a portrait of acceptance, understanding, and empathy. Through the characterization and insertion of poetry within this piece, we can begin to dissect the various ways that all of our lives are inextricably bound together and realize that we are not so different after all.