Allusion In Hit The Air

The type of allusion that carries the most significance in Punching the Air is literary. because Amal, and the different people he talks to reference poems such as “Still I Rise” or “The Rose that Grew from Concrete” which impacts his character development throughout the book. For example, on page 181, Umi tells Amal to rise up like Maya Angelou says in Still I Rise, and later on in the book on page 353, Amal repeats what Umi said, to show how he has changed while he’s been in prison.

In the poem “Books”, Amal alludes to a poem by Tupac called “The Rose that Grew from Concrete” To convey the message and metaphor that he is similar to Tupac in some ways, and also similar to a rose that grew from concrete. “The only book I gave Clyde is ‘The Rose that Grew from Concrete’, I was definitely trying to tell him something, because Tupac was a poet… Tupac went to jail”

This piece of evidence is significant because it shows that Amal thinks that he is like Tupac in some ways, because he only lists the attributes that are true for himself and Tupac respectively. He also alludes to “The Rose that Grew from Concrete” and he subtly implies that he is also similar to the rose that grew from concrete, because he can also persevere and remain resilient even in situations that are tough.

The authors of Punching the Air allude to Maya Angelou’s poem when Umi talks with Amal as he’s in jail. This is important to the book because when Amal is in prison he is belittled and brought down, similar to what Maya Angelou describes in Still I Rise; and since Umi is one of the only people that look out for him when he’s found guilty, she is the one that tells him not to let everyone get to him; and to rise up like Maya Angelou