Miles Morales Suspended

The story’s climax uses a bombastic arrangement of words and images to capture the overblown drama of the comic-book genre even as the novel’s creators remain true to Miles’s more cerebral, philosophical approach to life. When the letters on Miles’s final worksheet begin to take on a life of their own, transforming into a lie about enslaved people not minding their circumstances, it is clear that this injustice still weighs heavily on Miles’s mind. Likewise, when the words emerge from the page and advance toward Miles, this image symbolizes the idea that malicious words and ideas can physically manifest in the world and wreak havoc on people’s lives. Similarly, when Tobin’s assignment morphs into the repeated words “savage” and “spider,” this fantastical occurrence heralds the beginning of a physical clash between the clandestine superhero and the corrosive forces that he has been struggling to counter. The termites have infested the very books and pages in the school, suggesting that even institutions of learning can be invaded and corrupted by harmful ideas, and it is now Miles’s responsibility to fight against the ominous forces that only he can clearly perceive. 

During the lead-up to this conflict and throughout its most violent moments, the novel’s creators continue to play with the visual effects of strategically placed words and phrases. On page 250, for example, the scattered words “tap tap tap” refer to Tobin’s inner tension and create the impression that his ominous presence is becoming impossible for Miles to ignore. The visual techniques are also used to create a dual sense of motion and suspense, as when Miles slings himself into the rafters, accompanied by the words “up up up,” which climb the page to emphasize his vertical movement and urgency. The double-splash illustration on pages 276-277 symbolically frames Miles and Tobin’s confrontation atop a giant book, further emphasizing the implicit battle of ideas taking place. As mundane spaces like classrooms, hallways, and bathrooms become sites of conflict and transformation, these visual and typographic elements add to the sense of danger, engaging directly with Miles’s inner experience of Combating the Undercurrents of Systemic Racism.

This theme is also addressed on a more academic level with Miles’s response to the final class worksheet, which comes from Mr. Chamberlain’s history class. As Miles deals with the necessity of completing the assignment set by his racist teacher, he undergoes an inner battle just as intense as his subsequent struggle with the termite-infested version of Tobin, for both scenes illustrate his determination to confront the issue of racism wherever it arises to affect his life. Through his poems, he uses symbolism to communicate his real-time realizations. For instance, his memories of a fake bracelet he bought for his mother remind him that appearances can be deceiving, leading him to question whether the visions of termites and dancing letters are real, or whether Tobin is hiding something. The issue of racism is explicitly addressed when Tobin tells Miles that he belongs “in a dark corner with the flies” (270), for this harsh statement exemplifies the psychological and systemic attacks that Miles now faces. 

In the end, by defeating the termite-Tobin and by drafting a decisive answer to his teacher’s assignment, Miles manages to unite his understanding of his environment, his Reckoning with Family Legacy, and his own sense of identity. In response to Mr. Chamberlain’s question about teaching students to read and write their way to freedom, Miles composes a long poem titled “A Reckoning” (240), using metaphors to assert that even though he is shaped by his surroundings, he is also capable of forming his own patterns and paths. This reflection helps him to process his uncle’s life of crime, to recognize parallels in his father’s struggles, and to define his own views of morality.