A simple question. But for this lone student it couldn't be more complicated. The character then goes on to state the fact that he is the only african american and lives in Harlem. "I am the only colored student in my class." Quickly making the abrupt statement as if this is expected and should come as no surprise to the reader, this is a good use of diction, very sure and confident words telling the reader this is how it is and and to society how its supposed to be and the blatancy of his words only tells us there is no hope. A sad truth, only cause of the color of a mans skin. The character then reveals to the reader with uncertainty of who he is that, "I guess I'm what I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you"(3) he is both apart of Harlem and his predominately white English class, feeling lost in the middle and relies on his instincts to feel something in the cold world he lives in(1), "feel," "hear," "see," all depict sensory imagery, showing the reader this character is made of his surroundings and his situation is a complicated one although acknowledging his african culture he knows this alone does not define him as it does his other black peers because the stay on the opposite line between white and black while our character breaking new white boundaries finds himself in the middle, simply one of a kind, in a way making him neither white or black (2). "hear you, hear me---we two---you, me, talk on this page. (I hear New York too.) Me---who?" (3). The structure of this line is meant to confuse the reader between "you" and "me." "you" being the whites and "me" being the blacks. he does this to create a choppy flow which symbolizes uncertainty, and the mixture of the words when spoken fast is meant to make it one, and not two separate meanings. The page is meant to symbolize the world they live on and their stories are still being written, together.
