45 pages • 1 hour read
S. A. CosbyRazorblade Tears
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2021A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Corrosive Nature of Violence
In Razorblade Tears, violence is a fact of life, the characters often seeing violence as a means to an end. Derek and Isiah are murdered so they won’t reveal Gerald’s secret relationship with Tangerine. For Gerald, the violence of the murders is utilitarian. For the Rare Breed, violence is the solution to most of their problems. It is built into their club creed: They make their enemies “bleed for the Breed” (64).
Ike has spent the past 15 years trying to move away from violence. He no longer wants to be “Riot Randolph,” the man who committed murder. However, Buddy’s defacement of the graves puts him back on the criminal path. Ike thinks: “That was the thing about violence. When you went looking for it you definitely were going to find it. It just wouldn’t be at a time of your choosing” (98). Cosby shows how violence escalates into more violence. Once Ike decides to join Buddy Lee’s mission, things snowball.
Most of the major characters see violence as a solution. They move amongst people who equate violence with justice, and respond in kind, even when it’s unnecessary, such as when Ike breaks Bryce’s finger at the meeting of the Blue Anarchists. Violence has a momentum that accelerates with continued use. It is often an act of ignorance. For some of the characters, violence is a coping mechanism. It’s not necessary to strive for a better solution if violence can make something go away.
Buddy Lee and Ike’s violence alienate them from their sons. Ironically, the men seek justice through means their sons would have abhorred. Cosby shows how violence is still corrosive when used for justice; as Ike says, revenge is just hatred with a nicer name.
Regret, Bigotry, and Tolerance as Distinct From Acceptance
In the novel, tolerance is not the same as acceptance. Derek and Isiah don’t have the acceptance of their fathers until they die. Ike and Buddy Lee often—during their sons’ lives—view tolerance as the best they can offer to those with lifestyles they don’t understand. In their case, tolerance is not a virtue. They grit their teeth, look away, and ignore what makes Derek and Isiah happy: the love they have for each other. Their conversation with Amelia reinforces that they are not the only fathers who can scarcely tolerate their gay or lesbian children.
Ike and Buddy Lee both display peculiar intolerance. Ike deplores racism and takes every opportunity to remind Buddy Lee that he doesn’t understand what life is like for Black people. Ike tells him that driving a truck as an African American means: “You […] get pulled over four or five times a month” because no one believes that you could afford the truck by legitimate means (43). At the same time, Ike shows his own intolerance and insecurity during the barfight where Tex quotes Martin Luther King, Jr. to him. Buddy Lee also illustrates intolerance; he is guilty of racist remarks and attitudes that he has never considered until Ike points them out.
Cosby shows how tolerance is better than intolerance, but just barely. Ike and Buddy Lee finally see that the key to peace is to let people be who they are. Buddy Lee tells Christine that if he could go back, the last thing he would worry about is who Derek wanted to sleep next to at night, if only Derek could wake up the next morning. It takes death to show Buddy Lee and Ike that they failed their sons.
Competing Identities
Ike struggles with multiple facets of his identity. His tattoo marks him as a member of the Black Gods, a prison gang. When they look at him, his former associates see Riot Randolph. Ike tries to create a new identity after leaving prison. He is now a law-abiding citizen, a committed entrepreneur with his own business, and a passable husband and grandfather.
The friction between him and Isiah fractures the illusion that he has left his past behind. Ike feels the tension between himself and Riot. He wants to lash out at things he does not understand, and which do not fit neatly into his identity.
Buddy Lee also experiences duality. He tells Christine and Derek that there is a devil inside him, that he no longer wants to pretend he is a good man. In contrast to Ike, he does not seem tormented by his duality. For example, he tells Gerald that he is not ashamed of who he is, and that he doesn’t really want to change.
Gerald also struggles with duality. He presents a wholesome face to the public but has a sadistic, selfish core. He doesn’t recognize things outside himself as having meaning, despite pursuing the office of a public servant. He feels the need to silence Tangerine, as he knows that their involvement would end him politically, and that his enemies could use her transgender identity as a weapon against him. In contrast, Tangerine is at peace with her identity, and assumes Gerald is as well.
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By S. A. Cosby
