The Jackson 5

The Jackson 5 tickets that Carney struggles to secure for his daughter May are a symbol of the illusory prospect of Black prosperity in an economic landscape designed to suppress Black agency. In an effort to secure his daughter access to 1971's most thoroughly commercialized corner of Black culture (i.e. The Jackson 5 themselves), Carney is forced back into the criminal world he has worked so hard to escape.

Ringolevio

The childhood game of ringolevio, for which the first section of the novel is named, is a symbol for the cycle of criminality in Harlem. The adult criminal lives led by the various characters who populate Carney's neighborhood find resonance in the duplicitous and action-packed game of ringolevio, whose machinations mirror those of the actual criminal underworld.

"Don't Walk" Sign

The "Don't Walk" sign that Munson comments on while driving around with Carney is a symbol...