Promise Boys

“That’s why I choose to tutor at Promise. To make a difference. With my white privilege, I see it as my responsibility.”

As one of the few white characters in the text, Becca’s point of view introduces the perception of Black and Brown students at Promise by the public. Her belief that she is “responsible” for helping the students implies her belief of superiority. Additionally, it draws a parallel between Becca and the other two white characters in the text: Ennis and Hicks. Just as Becca uses the students to feel good about herself, Ennis and Hicks use them for fame and corruption.

“J.B.: Moore’s method ain’t do nothing for me.

DETECTIVE BO: Is that why you killed him?

J.B.: I’m done talking.

DETECTIVE ASH: Cut the crap, kid! Why were you covered in Moore’s blood if you have nothing to do with this, huh?

DETECTIVE BO: And tell us about the altercation that occurred between you and Moore earlier that day.

J.B.: Well —

DETECTIVE ASH: Do I have to remind you that it’s not looking good for you?! No more bullshit!”

The transcript of J.B.’s interview with the police introduces an important component of the theme of The Impact of Systemic Racism. Although there is very little evidence against J.B., he is treated harshly and aggressively. As seen in this quote, he is interrupted, sworn at, and pressured to respond, emphasizing the detrimental nature of the police. Instead of trying to help J.B. or uncover the truth, they are insistent that he must somehow be guilty just because of his proximity to the murder.

“I know that kid, though. Solomon. Not sure if Moore cared or not, but like a lot of families in this city, Solomon’s family struggles. I don’t know, maybe he only had one tie and something happened to it. But that’s not an excuse to Moore, he couldn’t care less. The wild part is Solomon’s one of those kids that likes being at Promise. But I don’t have time to rescue anyone.”

This quote conveys two important components of Ramón’s character with relation to the school. First, he acknowledges the hypocrisy of Moore. Instead of trying to help students from impoverished families like Solomon, he berates him and disciplines him for not strictly following the dress code. Second, it conveys Ramón’s exhaustion with the situation; he is so beaten down by the school’s policies that he doesn’t have the capacity to “rescue” anyone else.

“But more than all of that, Keyana wants the same thing I do: a chance to make it out of Benning Terrace and do something big. Something better than all the folks we see at home.”

Ramón’s words highlight the value he finds in his relationship with Keyana. He names several things about her, like her attractiveness and intelligence, and then emphasizes the importance of her dreams. This fact shows how much Ramón desires to escape his difficult home life, recognizing the importance of his future.

“My skin boils. My mind floods with all the possible ways I could hurt Moore. All I’d have to do was follow him to his office, lock the door behind me and go to work, beat his ass one good time. I think I could take him.”

In order to build suspense in the novel, Brooks uses J.B.’s point of view to introduce the possibility that he was angry enough at Moore to kill him. This creates the possibility of J.B. being an unreliable narrator, making the reader question what happened in the part of the story that the reader isn’t told.

“Nobody understood Moore’s vision like I did. In fact, I think I saw more potential in what he built than even he did. Promise is more than just a school…it’s a movement, and more importantly, a legacy.”

Throughout Ennis’s first point-of-view chapter, he praises Promise Prep and repeatedly talks about how important it is. However, he never talks about the students themselves or how they are impacted by his work; instead, he focuses on building a “legacy” and a “movement” that would bring him fame and wealth. This quote introduces the corruption within his character, foreshadowing his involvement with Moore in the school’s embezzlement.

“I’ll be honest: I care for the boy, I really do. I know he thinks I just want to ride him, but he doesn’t understand that this world will swallow him whole if his head isn’t on straight. Black men don’t get second chances, yet Trey got one with me. I couldn’t let him waste it.”

Uncle T’s point of view introduces the duality of his character. While he is abusive to Trey, he truly believes that his actions are for the right reasons. He fails to understand Trey’s struggle or to connect with him, but he views harsh discipline as a necessity to protect Trey from the impact of systemic racism.

“So, we went to school visits, conferences, workshops, all sorts of things to learn best practices. A tweak here, a tweak there, and before you know it, I realized we were herding boys like cattle. They weren’t kids anymore, they were prisoners.”

Mrs. Hall uses figurative language in her description of the school to convey how much Promise has changed since it opened. First, she uses a simile to compare the students to “cattle,” conveying the lack of humanity that exists when students can no longer connect with each other or their teachers. Then, she uses a metaphor, calling the students “prisoners” to convey their mistreatment. Her words develop the theme of the impact of systemic racism, as she draws a parallel between Promise and the school-to-prison nexus (See: Background).

“I can’t go back home, I’ll miss half of school, no way I’ll be able to play in the game if that happens. I wish I could just call Uncle T, tell him I made a mistake and ask him to help me. But that ain’t my life. He’s going to think I took it. He doesn’t give me the benefit of the doubt. He doesn’t do mistakes or excuses.”

This quote shows the value of the boys’ first-person point-of-view narrations. From an outsider’s perspective, it seems obvious that Trey should not take a gun into the school. However, his point of view emphasizes the impact that Uncle T and the school have had on him, making him afraid to admit a mistake for fear of irrational punishment.

“I’ve seen news cameras in my neighborhood, sweeping down the street to show broken windows and dudes on corners. I’ve seen the same kind of footage on TV of the halls of Promise—both look at us like animals; they just see one set as tame.”

César uses a simile, comparing children of color in his neighborhood and at Promise to “animals,” as well as an implied metaphor to convey how white people view them like a display in a zoo. This figurative language emphasizes the impact of systemic racism in César’s eyes. He believes that people of color will always be separate from white society and be viewed as in need of “taming.” These words lend insight into his character, highlighting how he has been jaded by years of mistreatment by the system.

“Those nights are some of the only times I saw César relax and laugh. Ramón could always make him laugh. Sometimes our neighbor, Don José, would poke his head out and call to them, and they’d all laugh. Don José has known us all for years. He’s one of the few people outside our family who doesn’t act scared of César.”

Through Magdalena’s character, Brooks provides a different perspective on César, subverting society’s view of him as inherently violent and dangerous. Instead, she—as well as Don José—sees the happiness within César in the rare moments when he is not trying to perform for his gang. This quote emphasizes the importance of Brooks’s decision to use a shifting first-person point of view, providing a perspective missing from all the other characters in the text.

“[Mr. Reggie] is a security guard at school, and without meaning to I hear in my head beep beep beep. Almost like he can give me a demerit here on the bus. Hell, maybe he can. With this stupid Promise uniform I have on.”

The repeated phrase “beep beep beep,” a motif in the novel, is used here to convey just how impacted the students are by the disciplinary procedures at Promise. When Ramón gets on the bus in the morning, just seeing Mr. Reggie makes him begin to hear the sound of getting a demerit, which in turn induces fear and anxiety in him.

“‘I…I…’ But I can’t find the words. All the English flies out of my head. The Spanish too. All I feel is anger. It thrums through me.

‘And now you’re in my face stuttering,’ [Moore] mocks. ‘I don’t know why we’ve kept you in this school—that ESL isn’t working too well, is it? Now give me that.’”

The first-person point of view gives the reader insight into the racism that Ramón faces as a Salvadoran immigrant. When he struggles with his English, others take it as a sign of low intelligence, even though many of them have never had to learn to communicate in a second language. This moment, narrated from Ramón’s perspective, presents the conflict between who Ramón is and how others perceive him.

“The lie makes me want to reach for his gun, put it to his temple, and make him apologize. Not for roughing me up when he arrested me, or locking me in the room with the one light and the dark window. Or for yelling in my face, trying to make me confess to a murder I didn’t commit. I want him to apologize for lying to my mother.”

J.B.’s perspective highlights his anger at systemic racism. Ironically, he is not mad at the police for his mistreatment, as it is something that he has come to expect; instead, he is mad at the lie they tell his mother. This fact conveys how much J.B. cares about his mother, juxtaposing the violence that others see in him with his caring and supportive thoughts.

“[My mother] doesn’t seem to understand. I stare down at my knuckles, still scabbed up from punching the locker. Moore looked at me like I was a criminal for doing that. Was I a criminal? Or was I just human? At Promise, it’s almost like showing emotions is another way of breaking the rules.”

J.B.’s thoughts emphasize the internal conflict he faces as a direct result of his treatment at Promise. Promise’s carceral policies instill the belief in its students that they are somehow in need of strict policies and punishment to escape their nature. Within J.B., this creates a struggle between what he knows—that he made a mistake—and what Promise makes him feel—that he is a criminal.

“I wish I could go back. Turn back time. But to where? In order to avoid the incident with Moore that landed me in detention, I would have to never have made the pupusas. And if I never made them, it would be because César wasn’t arrested. In order for César to never be arrested, I couldn’t be his little cousin. And on and on. How do I unwind my whole life?”

Ramón’s thoughts convey the complexity of his life as a person of color, emphasizing the theme of the impact of systemic racism. He faces several interwoven hardships tied to his heritage and his family. Because these qualities are inherently viewed as bad or dangerous, it complicates his entire life, turning something simple like making pupusas with his abuela into a possible murder charge.

“‘When [Uncle T] left earlier? He was headed to a meeting to talk to another lawyer,’ [Ma] says softly. ‘Somebody who doesn’t already believe you’re guilty. And remember, you haven’t been charged with anything yet. We’re going to keep praying and keep making friends.’”

Trey’s conversation with his mother develops the theme of The Value of Family and Friendship, while further complicating Uncle T’s character. Trey has a difficult home life, as his mother tries to address her substance use disorder and his uncle struggles to connect with him as a father figure. Despite this, his mother makes it clear that they are both there to support him—even if they do so in subtle ways like searching for a better lawyer.

“[T]here’s a feeling building in me that’s like the sparks before a wildfire. A bunch of small blazes growing into a big one. And it’s been growing more and more. Anger, fear, resentment. I try to swallow it all down. But I’m running out of space.”

Ramón describes his internal conflict by using a simile, comparing his anger to “sparks” that are creating a fire within him. This simile develops the theme of Maintaining Power by Controlling the Narrative: He struggles with his feelings of helplessness and isolation, as he cannot tell his story or express his years of mistreatment at Promise, instead being perceived as a murder suspect.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard J.B. talk this much. Ramón either. That’s the way Promise works: You’re side by side with strangers. Until I get to know them better I can’t get too close. They could be in on Principal Moore’s murder together.”

These thoughts from Trey convey the value of family and friendship, signaling a change occurring within his character. Although he is still hesitant to trust the other boys, he begins to understand and connect with them the more that they talk with each other. As a result, he begins to change as he learns the value of support and friendship in others.

“I can’t even look at my uncle. I just start crying without warning. Honestly it feels good. A release. The secret had been weighing so heavy on me and I didn’t even realize it. My biggest fear is true. I am in some way responsible for the death of Principal Moore.”

When Trey learns that the gun he took to school was used to kill Moore, he cries in front of his uncle. In this moment, he shows emotion and vulnerability, something he has rarely done due to the strict, repressive nature of his home life and his school. Through this purging of his emotions, however, he begins to help Uncle T understand what his abuse does, giving hope that they will heal their relationship moving forward.

“[Moore] looked at dudes like J.B. and Trey and Ramón and saw something…wrong with them. Something that needed to be crushed into a box, breaking all the bones to make them fit.”

As Keyana discovers Moore’s history and the fame he has gained through his “Moore Method” and Promise, she uses a metaphor to grapple with her understanding of the situation. She compares the boys at Promise to something that can be forced into a metaphorical box, implying sameness and uniformity. Her words summarize the disciplinary views of Promise: All of the boys are inherently unruly and dangerous; therefore, they need to be forced into a mold of compliance to be successful.

“The pieces fall into place. Stanley and Moore were running some sort of operation, the business went south, and somebody had to pay the price. No different from in the streets.”

J.B’s words compare the corruption at Promise to an “operation” that occurs “in the streets,” succinctly simplifying the situation and developing the theme of maintaining power by controlling the narrative. For years, Ennis and Moore have controlled the narrative at Promise, portraying themselves as saviors who have dedicated their lives to helping children of color. However, J.B. sees it for what it is: corruption that is no different than something he sees every day in his neighborhood.

“Even if my name is cleared, I don’t think I ever want to come back to this place. It would be just like going to jail. What’s the difference at this point? […] Asking to go to the bathroom and not knowing if I’d actually be allowed to go and piss. Even then, with permission, Hicks stopping me and interrogating me. Going down to the bathroom, trying to have one moment where I’m not being stared at by teachers just waiting for me to put one eyelash out of line. […] This can’t be normal, man. It just can’t be.”

J.B.’s words summarize the internal impact that prep schools like Promise have on children of color. Although he was unable to articulate it in the past, now that he is out of Promise, he sees how deeply it affected him. In this way, Brooks’s novel aims to give voice to those affected by that racism, providing insight into the dangers of carceral policies and the school-to-prison nexus.