Detroit

Though Genesis’s family is evicted from their home in Detroit on page two and leaves the urban area in Chapter Three, the city serves as the backdrop for her upbringing and as a benchmark for her experience. While she is still there, Genesis mentions the boarded-up buildings, vacant lots, and abandoned cars that are part of Detroit’s landscape. She also brings up the poor condition of city streets that are filled with potholes, litter, and surrounded by “dead brown grass (and) overgrown foliage” (34). Even the mayor, she says, is incapable of keeping any promises to clean up Detroit.

Detroit is not just a setting; it is an identity and an attitude. When in language arts class, Genesis is asked to introduce herself and state the name of her previous school, her mind goes blank and all she can think to reply is “Detroit” (55), which draws laughter...