Taking Sides

Chapters 1-3 introduce the novel’s main conflict: Lincoln’s internal struggle with feeling he doesn’t belong in his new home. Sycamore is the antithesis of everything Lincoln is used to: “Sprinklers hissing on green lawns” with “sycamores [lining] the street” and “splashes of flowers and neatly piled firewood” (7). His explanation of why he would rather be playing for Franklin implies that his discomfort with Sycamore also relates to broader issues of class and ethnic identity, introducing the theme of Identity as Multifaceted: “There’s no brown people here. Everyone’s white […] and our coach is a nasty dude. He’s got trouble inside his head” (4). In other words, Lincoln attributes his discomfort to looking different than the other people in Sycamore. He also attributes his feelings to his socioeconomic situation, though he and his mother are not struggling financially anymore.

Since Sycamore, for Lincoln, represents both whiteness and middle-class status, he clings to the Mission District as a symbol of his own class and ethnicity. The extent to which he does so becomes evident when Lincoln learns Monica also used to attend Franklin. When Lincoln says he doesn’t remember her, it is as if he’s amazed at himself for not remembering something about Franklin, which he considers his home. When Monica replies, “Well, I did [go to Franklin] for two months […] But we moved here. My dad didn’t like me going to school in the city” (14), Lincoln retorts, “But your dad didn’t have to go to school” (14). Here, Lincoln projects his own preference for Franklin onto Monica without realizing he is doing so.

However, when Lincoln has the chance to express his love and loyalty for Franklin, he refrains. When Monica remarks, “you know how Franklin is” (14), Lincoln retorts, “You mean nasty” (14). Monica’s response is diplomatic; she is kind about her feelings for Franklin because they are standing in front of James. Lincoln, however, doubles down: “That’s the only way of putting it” (15). Lincoln feels like he can’t open up to her concerning his real feelings about Franklin because he perceives (rightly or wrongly) that she won’t understand. He also feels self-conscious, surrounded by Columbus students who would agree that Franklin has nothing to recommend it. Consequently, he suppresses his desire to “tell her about the Franklin he knew” (15)—a place he characterizes as violent but also familiar and reassuring. On Page 8, for instance, he reflects that “he had liked to walk among the brown faces and stand with the Vietnamese and Korean kids” and that “he misse[s] his friends” (8).

Even as Lincoln longs to return to the Mission District, he is therefore not honest about who he is. This in turn raises questions of The Durability of Friendship. Lincoln considers Tony his real friend and James a mere friendship of convenience—a “basketball friend.” The novel’s events will prove this to be unfair to James, but in the meantime, it is significant that Lincoln’s desire to fit in wins out over any impulse to defend Franklin and (by extension) his friends there.  

Lincoln’s reluctance to speak openly with Monica also stems from a desire not to look foolish in front of someone he is attracted to, which develops the theme of The Gains and Losses of Growing Up. More broadly, Lincoln does not yet have the confidence to speak his mind, whether to Coach Yesutis for making fun of him or to his mother for dating Roy. These first three chapters all work to suggest the intricate internal structure of Lincoln’s emotional life, which forms the basis for his maturation over the course of the novel.