Summary
Tish reveals that the date for Fonny's trial keeps changing, which has shown her how much Mr. Hayward actually cares about getting Fonny justice. She notes that the more work Mr. Hayward puts in for Fonny's benefit, the more at odds he is with "the keepers of the keys and seals" (126-7). Mr. Hayward feels isolated by his mission to get Fonny out of jail, but he becomes more determined to stick to his guns as the trial goes on. Tish reflects on the fact that even though she distrusted Mr. Hayward at first, she is not usually a distrustful person. Despite the fact that there are so many tensions between her family members and Mr. Hayward, they all had to trust each other in this trying time. Tish also begins to see that Mr. Hayward's involvement with the case becomes personal for him and he remains intensely tied to it, despite the fact that his colleagues begin to "scorn and avoid" him (127). Hayward knows that he needs to bring Fonny's case to a "sympathetic or merely intelligent" judge, which takes "charm, patience, money, and a backbone of tempered steel" (127-8).
Hayward goes to visit Daniel and sees he has been beaten by the cops. He offers to become Daniel's lawyer on his narcotics charge, but Daniel is distrustful and evasive. Mr. Hayward is unsure whether or not it would be a good decision to bring Daniel to the witness stand. The Rivers family waits for the trial to come as Tish becomes more and more pregnant. Joseph and Frank are both working double time. Ernestine spends less time at the settlement house so she can take a job as a famous actress's personal assistant. Joseph and Frank both begin to steal goods from the docks and the garment center and then sell those goods in Harlem or Brooklyn.
Sharon meets with Hayward to prepare for her trip to Puerto Rico. He tells her that Mrs. Rogers lives in a favela outside of Santurce. He gives her an address, but tells her that it will be hard to find her specific location with just this information. He also informs Sharon that Mrs. Rogers' maiden name is Sanchez, which will make her hard to find since it is a common last name in Puerto Rico. He then hands Sharon a photograph of Mrs. Rogers so that she can get an idea of the person she is looking for. Sharon puts the documents in her wallet and then places her wallet in her purse. She tells Mr. Hayward that she will be leaving for Puerto Rico tomorrow, and that she will have someone telephone to let him know where she is.
Before Sharon and Tish leave Mr. Hayward's office, Mr. Hayward informs them that the D.A.'s office has been in contact with Mrs. Hunt and Fonny's sisters. They have told the D.A.'s office that, according to them, he has "always been incorrigible and worthless" (132). Mr. Hayward notifies Tish and Sharon that this severely complicates their case, since the D.A. now has "three respectable black women" testifying against their son and brother. He sends Sharon away, telling her to secure Mrs. Rogers' changed testimony. Tish thinks to herself that she will deal with Fonny's mother and sisters.
After Sharon and Tish leave Mr. Hayward's office, Tish launches into a memory about the night she and Fonny conceived their baby. They are downtown, off of Canal Street, and they have just found a loft to rent. It is perfect for them: "It had two big windows on the street and the two back windows opened onto a roof, with a railing. There was room for Fonny to work, and, with all the windows open, you wouldn't die of heat prostration in the summertime" (133). The landlord, Levy, is nice to Tish and Fonny because he can see their love for each other. He asks them for one month of advance rent as a deposit, and Tish takes it over to him a week later. Tish recounts that once Fonny got arrested, Levy called Tish and told her that she could have the deposit back whenever she wanted it. He also told her that he will save the apartment for Tish and Fonny and not rent it out to anyone else.
Back in their first tour of the loft, Fonny asks Levy what the emergency procedure is in case there is a fire. Levy shows them a questionable path off of the roof which leads to a courtyard that is surrounded by walls on all 4 sides. Fonny says "I can dig that" and Levy offers to buy Tish and Fonny milkshakes (134). Before they part ways, Levy issues a warning to Fonny and Tish: "Look. I told you not to worry about the neighbors. But watch out for the cops. They're murder" (135). Tish thinks about how warnings are only ever heeded after it is too late.
After Levy leaves them, Fonny and Tish walk toward their apartment on Bank Street. While Tish looks at some vegetables, Fonny runs to a corner store to buy some cigarettes. While Tish looks for someone to help her weigh her tomatoes, she feels a hand on her behind. At first, she thinks it is Fonny's but quickly realizes that he would never touch her that way in public. She turns around to see a "small, young, greasy, Italian punk" that hits on her (136). In that moment, Tish realizes that Fonny is on his way back and she does not want him to fight the boy. She also feels herself wanting to throw all the tomatoes she has in his face. At the same time, she can see a white officer walking up the street toward them. She tries to leave the situation by entering the store, but the boy follows her in. He blocks her exit and grabs her arm when she tries to move around him. In response, she slaps his face and spits on him and Fonny walks into the store. Tish tries her hardest to stop Fonny while he beats up the boy because she can see the white cop running toward them. She puts herself in between Fonny and the police officer in a desperate attempt to protect him.
When the police officer arrives at the scene, Tish quickly tells him that the white boy put his hands on Tish and that everyone in the store saw him do it. The police officer asks where Fonny was when the white boy inappropriately touched Tish, and Tish replies that he was at a corner market getting cigarettes. She doesn't want to let Fonny speak directly to the officer. The officer tells Fonny that he is going to take him in for assault and battery, but the owner of the shop stands up for the pair. She tells the officer that their story is correct and that the boy did attack Tish before Fonny beat him up.
Tish and Fonny leave the market, and both of them begin to cry. Fonny tells Tish that she should never try to protect him like that again. He takes Tish to the Spanish restaurant. When they get there, Fonny tells Pedrocito that he has no money but that they'd like to eat something. They order two margaritas. Fonny then talks to Tish and tells her that he worries about her every time she is out of his sight. Fonny then tells Tish that the white cop will try to get him because he did nothing wrong and got away for it. He also knows that the white lady that defended Fonny angered Officer Bell and hurt his reputation.
Tish and Fonny enjoy a long dinner at the restaurant. Tish notes that after Fonny signs the check, it is the last check that he ever signed there. When, much later, she goes back to pay his bill while he is in jail, they will tell her that the receipt has been misplaced. After the dinner, when Fonny and Tish get home, there is a patrol car parked out front. It drives away when they open the door, but Fonny chooses not to say anything about it, and neither does Tish. Tish is certain, in retrospect, that they conceived the baby that night because they were closer together than ever before: "I was very proud. I had crossed my river. Now, we were one" (144).
Sharon arrives in Puerto Rico in the evening with the feeling that she is "moving against time" (144). When she disembarks from the plane, the weight of the air reminds her of Birmingham. She is caught off guard by the chaos at the airport in San Juan. She approaches a rental car counter and tells the lady behind the desk that she needs help finding someone who will drive her to her hotel. She then hands the address of that hotel to the lady. She can tell from the look on her face that Hayward has put her up in a very nice, respectable hotel. The lady disappears for a few minutes and returns with a teenager, who will be Sharon's taxi driver. The boy's name is Jaime, and Sharon decides that she will befriend him, because it might be helpful to have an ally in her court.
Sharon considers going to a nightclub to look for Mrs. Rogers or her lover, Pietro. When they get to the hotel, Sharon tips Jaime and then asks if he would be willing to wait for her outside while she checks in. Jaime decides to help her. He waits outside as she runs upstairs to change. She is uncertain of whether or not to wear her hat and doesn't know how she will come off to the locals. She decides on an outfit and when she jumps into the taxi, Jaime's eyes inform her that she looks like an American tourist. She tells Jaime to wait outside while she looks for someone, and Jaime is determined to take care of Sharon.
While in the nightclub, Sharon takes a seat at a table and orders a screwdriver. She is waiting for Pietro, who she knows works there. She listens to the live music and remembers her days as a singer. The live music displeases her, but she claps for the musicians because she is praying for them. When Pietro finds her, she tells him that she is there to talk to Mrs. Rogers, and that she is the mother-in-law of the man that Mrs. Rogers accused of raping her. Pietro responds, "Well, lady, you've got one hell of a son-in-law, let me tell you that" (153).
Sharon tried to talk to Pietro and tries to get him to see that Fonny did not do what they think he did. She shows Pietro Fonny's picture and tells him to go home and hold Mrs. Rogers and have her look at the photograph. Pietro refuses and leaves Sharon alone in the nightclub. She leaves the club and finds Jaime outside. They make plans to meet the next morning at 9 A.M.
Back in New York, Tish's baby has started kicking. Tish feels like she cannot quit her job, which means that she has to miss many six-o'clock visits at the Tombs with Fonny. She knows that this is hard for Fonny, even though he understands. She worries that if she quits her job she will be visiting Fonny during the six-o'clock visit for the rest of their lives. However, Joseph informs Tish that she will need to quit her job when she becomes too pregnant and the baby is causing her to feel sick. Tish feels a rebellious spirit in her baby, as if by its kicking it is letting her know that it is ready to come into the world. She does not recognize her body at all anymore and it grows in places where it has never grown before. She feels deep affection for the creature growing inside of her and tries her hardest to learn its language.
Joseph sits Tish down with a cup of cocoa and tells her that if she keeps working, she is going to lose her baby. He tells her that he will worry about the money for her and that she must get rest in order to finish out her pregnancy healthily. He tells her that she is all that Fonny has, and he knows this because he is a man. Tish quits her job, and Ernestine calls the department store to let them know that Tish or her will be there to pick up her check in the next few days.
Tish begins to visit Fonny every day and he flourishes. She realizes that her presence with him in the jail is more important than keeping a job: "Every day, when he sees my face, he knows, again, that I love him—and God knows I do, more and more, deeper and deeper, with every hour" (162). She realizes that she and Fonny are not alone but are lifted up by the support of her family.
Back in Puerto Rico, Sharon arrives at the favela at 9:30 in the morning. She is caught off guard by the state of the favela and likens it to a garbage dump. She is overwhelmed by the smell, but the children don't seem to care. She approaches Mrs. Rogers' house and takes note of the state it is in. All of the windows are shuttered closed. Sharon can hear an "orchestra" of children and elders from inside the house (163). Jaime looks uncomfortable and he reminds her of Fonny. She leaves him outside the structure and walks right in.
When Sharon walks into Mrs. Rogers' apartment, she is caught off guard at how young and vulnerable she looks. Sharon stands in the doorway and doesn't say a word, which confuses Mrs. Rogers. Sharon tries to refer to her as Mrs. Rogers, and her lips curl: "No, Señora. You are mistaken. I am Sanchez" (164). Mrs. Rogers does not know how to react to Sharon, and she moves to close the door but doesn't want to push her out of her home. The women stare at each other, each of them terrified. Mrs. Rogers tells Sharon that she has to start looking somewhere else and that she must start working. Sharon replies that she has a picture of Mrs. Rogers.
Mrs. Rogers pulls out a pack of cigarettes and courteously offers one to Sharon. She tells Sharon, again, that she does not know who she is. When Sharon tells her that she is Fonny's mother-in-law, Mrs. Rogers insists that she does not know what she is talking about. She begins to get very upset. Sharon's assertions become more forceful: "I am here to get a man out of prison. That man is going to marry my daughter. And he did not rape you" (166). Sharon hands Mrs. Rogers the photograph but Mrs. Rogers does not study it closely. She tells Sharon that she can tell that Sharon has never been raped before. She says that the man who raped her looked like Fonny, except he wasn't laughing.
Sharon sits next to Mrs. Rogers. She begins to question her and appeals to her by calling her "daughter." She reaches out to Mrs. Rogers, but Mrs. Rogers breaks. She begins screaming, and her neighbors emerge to see what the commotion is all about. A woman neighbor leads her away in her arms and Sharon slowly leaves the apartment building. All of the other neighbors stare at her as she goes. She gets into Jaime's cab and they drive away.
Sharon does not give up and she goes to the nightclub that night. However, she is turned away.
In the final few pages of "Troubled About My Soul," Tish reflects on Officer Bell. She says that ever since the afternoon at the market, she sees "Bell everywhere, and all the time" (171). She describes him, saying that he walks like John Wayne. She compares him to other men like him: "Like his heroes, he was kind of pinheaded, heavy gutted, big assed, and his eyes were as blank as George Washington's eyes" (171). Tish says that if you look into the depth of Officer Bell's eyes, you see a "bottomless cruelty, a viciousness cold and icy" (172). Whenever Officer Bell passes Fonny and Tish together, he looks straight ahead. However, when he passes either Tish or Fonny when they are alone, his eyes violently and lustily devours their bodies: "When Fonny was alone, the same thing happened. Bell's eyes swept over Fonny's black body with the unanswerable cruelty of lust, as though he had lit the blowtorch and had it aimed at Fonny's sex" (172).
Tish recounts a time when Officer Bell speaks to her. She is carrying a package of items that she stole from Daniel's boss in the garment district. He goes up to Tish and asks if he can carry her box for her. She responds—"No . . . thanks very much"—and tries to walk away but Bell is in her way. She looks into his eyes and sees violence, "the promise of rape" (173). Officer Bell assures Tish that he is not a bad person, and they part ways.
Tish remembers the night that they arrest Fonny, Daniel is at their apartment and he is crying. He tells Tish and Fonny that he saw nine men rape a boy in jail and that he, himself was raped. He tells them that he is forever changed. At that moment, the police begin knocking at the door.
Analysis
As the case develops, Tish notes that Mr. Hayward is slowly proving himself to her, even though she still doesn't trust him. She notes that Mr. Hayward perhaps wasn't fully aware of what he was getting himself into, but now that he has committed to his client, it is his intention to do the best by Fonny. She describes his process: "once into it, the odor of shit rose high; and he had no choice but to keep on stirring it. It became obvious at once, for example, that the degree of his concern for his client—or the fact that he had any genuine concern for his client at all—placed him at odds, at loggerheads, with the keepers of the keys and seals. He had not expected this, and at first it bewildered, then frightened, then angered him" (126-7). Mr. Hayward is becoming aware of the systemic injustice that someone like Fonny faces, and Tish catalogs his emotional response to this new awareness. Despite the fact that the Rivers family knows that the justice system is broken, Mr. Hayward remains generally optimistic: "But the calendars were full—it would take about a thousand years to try all the people in the American prisons, but the Americans are optimistic and still hope for time—and sympathetic or merely intelligent judges are as rare as snowstorms in the tropics" (127).
While Mr. Hayward struggles to bring Fonny justice, Frank and Joseph are forced to turn to illegal means to support their families in their time of trouble: "Joseph is coldly, systematically, stealing from the docks, and Frank is stealing from the garment center, and they sell the hot goods in Harlem, or in Brooklyn. They don't tell us this, but we know it. They don't tell us because, if things go wrong, we can't be accused of being accomplices . . . Each of these men would gladly go to jail, blow away a pig, or blow up a city, to save their progeny from the jaws of this democratic hell" (128). Joseph and Frank embody a paradoxical relationship with the law in these passages because of the duty they feel as fathers. They are willing to create trouble in order to get Fonny out of trouble. Additionally, because they do not work at high-paying jobs, they are forced to find illegal means of making money in order to keep their families alive. Joseph and Frank have made a dangerous choice to engage in illegal activity, but it is a choice that they do not take lightly. They simply have no other choice.
In Tish's memory of her and Fonny's early times together downtown, we see them being assisted by members of their community who help them navigate their new neighborhood. Their new landlord, Levy, warns them about the policemen in the area: "watch out for the cops. They're murder" (135). Even though Tish and Fonny could not have avoided the situation they later find themselves in, it is prophetic and telling that Levy knows how dangerous the policemen in this area can be. Levy's warning, as well as his hospitality and help in providing a loft for Tish and Fonny, speaks to a welcome racial and ethnic community that Tish and Fonny find. Additionally, Levy chooses to help them because he likes that they are in love. Similarly, the woman in the market who defends Tish and Fonny puts her reputation on the line in order to help them. She places herself, metaphorically and literally, between Fonny and the cop, and does not let him take him away. She calls upon her seniority in the neighborhood community to help her influence the officer: "I was on this street before you got here and I will be here after you are gone" (139). Tish and Fonny have the potential to flourish in this new community with the assistance and community knowledge of their neighbors. Unfortunately, however, Officer Bell's racism and drive for vengeance is stronger, and he will soon use Fonny's neighborhood against him.
A recurring thread in Beale Street is violence against women, in which women's bodies are used against their wishes. Tish feels irate when the white boy touches her behind without her permission. It is ironic that Fonny will soon be charged with sexual assault, in effect as a delayed result of his defense of Tish after she was assaulted. The crimes against Tish and Mrs. Rogers are of a similar nature, even though Mrs. Rogers' assault was much worse. By juxtaposing these two passages, Balwin makes a point about the different responses that come when a white man assaults a Black woman versus when a black man assaults a white woman.
While in the market, Tish is assaulted based on her race as well as her gender. The white boy calls her a "tomato," which in the 1970s in New York was slang for a lower-income woman. She strategizes on where she should place herself to be safest: "I realized that I was black and that the crowded streets were white and so I turned away and walked into the shop, still with my tomatoes in my hands" (136). By making Tish painfully aware of her race in the moment that she is being victimized for her gender, Baldwin makes a case for intersectionality. Tish's problems aren't easily defined by her gender alone or her race alone—they must be read together in order to make sense of the interlocking social structures that work to oppress her.
The theme of gender roles arises again in the market, in which Tish attempts to protect Fonny from the officer. She puts her body between Fonny and the officer and acts as a human shield against the officer's potential violence: "I was sure the cop intended to kill Fonny; but he could not kill Fonny if I could keep my body between Fonny and this cop; and with all my strength, with all my love, my prayers, and armed with the knowledge that Fonny was not, after all, going to knock me to the ground, I held the back of my head against Fonny's chest, held both his wrists between my two hands, and looked up into the face of this cop" (137). Additionally, when dealing with the cop, she takes control of the situation, and does not allow Fonny to speak. Instead, she speaks for him. Instead of taking the subservient role in this moment, Tish asserts takes on the role of protector and tries her best to solve the situation for Fonny, who is more at risk of police violence because he is a black man.
As Sharon touches down in Puerto Rico, Tish's once limited point-of-view expands even further in order to encompass her mother's journey. She follows her mother through her duties in Puerto Rico from New York City, and even enters Jaime's psyche for a little while.
The theme of family matters arises the moment that Sharon arrives in Puerto Rico. The first thing that catches Sharon off guard when she lands in Puerto Rico is how the people in the airport relate to each other. For Sharon, they act as if they are all part of one big family: "Her first impression is that everyone appears to be related to each other. This is not because of the way they look, nor is it a matter of language: it is because of the way they relate to each other" (145). Throughout Beale Street, the role of the family and how its members are supposed to treat each other is constantly being re-negotiated.
Sharon is painfully aware of her gender and race while she plans to find Pietro the first night in Puerto Rico: "Her idea is to case the nightclub, to see Pietro and possibly, Victoria, without saying anything to them" (147). Sharon quickly realizes that her plan might be more difficult than it seems because it "is not a simple matter for a lone woman, black or white, to walk, unescorted, into a nightclub" (147). She resigns herself to playing "the American tourist, wide-eyed" but she is also aware of the fact that her race might cause her to be read differently than white Americans in Puerto Rico: "but she is black, and this is Puerto Rico" (147). Additionally, because of the United States' fraught relationship in Puerto Rico, Sharon is aware that people might not be willing to help her because she is American.
The theme of cross-ethnic solidarity appears in Sharon's interactions with Jaime as well as in her interactions with Pietro. Even though Sharon is obviously foreign, Jaime unconsciously feels a familiarity towards her, which causes him to want to help her: "He does not know how he knows it—the thought has not consciously entered his mind—but he knows that she is a mother. He has a mother. He knows one when he sees one" (148). Additionally, he picks up on the fact that Sharon is in trouble and wants to help her: "his courtesy is as real as her trouble" (148). Sharon's connection with Jaime is unconscious, immediate, and easy. In contrast, Sharon tries to build a sense of connection between herself and Pietro that is denied by the other man. She likens him to Fonny during their conversation and tells him that she is old enough to be his mother. However, Pietro sees the largest difference between them, that Sharon cannot bridge: she is an American and he is not: "Look. I ain't no American. You got all them lawyers and folks up there, why you coming to me? Shit—I'm sorry, but I ain't nothing. I'm an Indian, wop, spic, spade—name it, that's me. I got my little thing going here, and I got Victoria, and, lady, I don't want to put her through no more shit; I'm sorry, lady, but I really just can't help you" (155). Ultimately, its is because of their differences that Pietro chooses to walk away from Sharon, and she must return to the drawing board.
Meanwhile, as the baby grows inside of Tish, she must learn its language. This is important to Tish, because she is the only parent with the baby and Fonny would never forgive her if that time was wasted. Tish knows that she has to learn from her baby about how to be a mother: "It has something to say to me, and I must learn to listen—otherwise, I will not know what to say when it gets here" (159). As with the other events of the novel, Tish takes her growing baby in stride; she observes what is happening with her perceptive eye, and learns as she grows.
The theme of gender roles arises again in this section. While Sharon is in Puerto Rico, Joseph takes care of Tish. He becomes the primary provider of his family: economically, domestically, and financially. Instead of delegating any responsibilities, he holds onto them himself. He convinces Tish that he will provide for her enough for her to quit her job and take care of herself.
Finally, the language that Joseph uses when convincing Tish to quit her job in this section is similar to the language Sharon uses when she is talking to Pietro in the previous section. Joseph tells Tish that he knows how she can best help Fonny because he is a man and therefore he knows what Fonny needs. In a similar vein, Sharon tells Pietro that the best way to console Mrs. Rogers about thinking about Fonny again is by holding her. He tells her that she knows this because she is a woman: "Hold her in your arms. Do that. I am a woman. I know that she was raped, and I know—well—I know what women know. But I also know that Alonzo did not rape her" (156). In each of these scenes, Joseph and Sharon call upon a collective knowledge and experience that comes from gender. They call from this knowledge in order to attempt to influence the younger people in their lives, who are the opposite gender. Only Joseph truly succeeds.
Setting holds a huge weight in the pages of If Beale Street Could Talk, and this is no less true when Sharon visits the favela. She is caught off guard by the sight of it, and it takes her a moment to gather and sort everything that she sees: "It is bitter. The blue sky above, and the bright sun; the blue sea, here, and the garbage dump, there" (163). It is discordant for Sharon that such natural beauty exists alongside the conditions that these people are living in and her brain stalls around this realization: "It takes a moment to realize that the garbage dump is the favela" (163). In this scene, Sharon is looking at Puerto Rico, and judging Puerto Rico, through American eyes, which separates her from the other people around her. Her shock at the sight of the favela is evidence of this fact. In fact, Sharon is aligned with Hayward in this scene, who warns her before she goes that he doubts "she would wish to try" to describe a favela after she sees one (163). In this way, in the last few pages of "Troubled About My Soul," we see that the identity markers that separate and trouble the characters in New York City are complicated when they come to Puerto Rico. When they are overseas, they enter a binary in which they are judged as "American" or "Not American." This binary is grossly apparent to both Pietro and Mrs. Rogers, who tell Sharon that they are not like her because they are not from the mainland.
Sharon, who has been thinking about Mrs. Rogers since Fonny's arrest, is caught off guard at how young and vulnerable she is when she first sees her. For the first time, Sharon truly takes into account how society has taken advantage of and disenfranchised this younger woman. Mrs. Roger's apparent youth and vulnerability deeply affect Sharon: "She does not look her age. She looks like a little girl. Then she moves and the light strikes her differently and Sharon recognizes her. Sharon leans against the open door, really afraid for a moment that she will fall" (164). Eye contact plays a very important role in this scene as characters self-define outside of the dominant narrative that has been constructed around them. In Mrs. Rogers' eyes, it is Fonny, and now Sharon, who are the antagonists; it takes Sharon until she is standing in Mrs. Rogers' home for her to realize this truth.
Sharon tries many methods to build a common ground between herself and Mrs. Rogers. She appeals to their shared womanhood, but Mrs. Rogers sees through that and tells Sharon that it is obvious that she has never been raped. She also appeals to the difference in their ages and calls Mrs. Rogers "daughter": "You've put a man in jail, daughter, a man you've never seen. He's twenty-two years old, daughter, he wants to marry my daughter—and— . . . he's black. . . . Like us" (169). In this passage, Sharon appeals to a sense of family and sameness between herself and Mrs. Rogers that the other woman also rejects. Ultimately, because Sharon is an American woman, she is irrevocably separate from Mrs. Rogers. "Señora!" Mrs. Rogers scolds her early in their visit, "I told you I have my work to do . . . I am not a North American lady" (165).
Baldwin saves some of the most heightened content for the last section of "Troubled About My Soul." As Tish recounts her encounters with Officer Bell, she talks about his apparent sexual lust towards Tish and Fonny that is tied to racial violence towards the two characters. This passage also contains the revelation that Daniel was sexually assaulted in jail and also was witness to a horrific sexual assault. The reader is left with terror and disgust in her heart in the same sentence that the police start knocking on the door to bring Fonny in. Baldwin builds the tension until we feel what Tish feels in this moment.
The motif of setting and community reappears in these last pages of the novel. Tish reveals that she is very scared about Officer Bell stalking them because she does not have the same community support that she used to have in Harlem: "I was frightened because, in the streets of the Village, I realized that we were entirely alone. Nobody cared about us except us; or, whoever loved us was not there" (172). Tish places personal autonomy and power with one's own community, and since Tish and Fonny are so far away from their loved ones, they are at risk. This is immediately evidenced by the fact that Fonny is taken in by the police for a crime that he did not commit after Officer Bell develops an obsession with him.
