The Cost of Knowing

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2021

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-8

Chapters 9-12

Chapter 13-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Visions

The magical realism genre allows authors to shine a light on real-world issues through fantastical elements. In Brittney Morris’s novel, the Rufus brothers’ visions symbolize the anxiety and depression experienced by young Black men. Alex sees his psychic powers as a family curse, and he draws a connection between the visions and the “[d]eep, paralyzing fear that runs all the way through every man in every generation of [his] family” (253). The author establishes a clear connection between the visions and the lasting damage inflicted by the horrors of slavery, demonstrating the generational trauma that many young Black men inherit. King Takaa, the ancestor whose wish began the visions, foresaw his descendants’ enslavement and took his own life in despair when he was unable to prevent this. While men are of course not the only people who suffered under slavery or who encounter racism, Morris chooses to focus on the experiences of Black men in this story. This is seen in her decision to make it so that only the men in King Takaa’s family inherit his psychic powers.

Through the generations, these men are impacted by racism in different ways. Likewise, their powers take different forms with some like Alex being able to see the future and others like Isaiah seeing the past. Isaiah’s words to his older brother make the comparison between the visions and mental illness explicit: “You said yourself anxiety is different for everybody. So why can’t our visions be different for everybody?” (198). Alex’s visions trigger overpowering fear, lightheadedness, feelings of dread, and other physical and psychological symptoms of anxiety. Likewise, Isaiah’s powers share many similarities with potential symptoms of depression, including a deep sense of regret, loss of interest in activities, and isolation. While the two young men cannot end prejudice on their own, they can take steps to protect their mental health as they navigate a society in which racism remains prevalent. By facing their fears and breaking their family’s curse, the brothers take a monumental step toward healing psychological wounds that have persisted for generations. Morris powerfully utilizes the magical realism genre to examine the impact of racism on Black men’s mental health through Alex and Isaiah’s visions.

Water

Throughout the novel, water acts as a motif for the theme of Fate Versus Free Will. Takaa and his descendants’ visions show them the inner workings of fate after the orisha of water answers his wish and gives him the power to “see everything for what it really was” (145). Tying back to the watery origins of his family’s psychic powers, rain plays an important part in Alex’s visions and the novel’s plot. At 13, he foresees his best friend’s death. Terrified of being present when Shaun meets his fate, Alex abandons him and hides: “I didn’t know exactly when the crash would happen, except that it would be raining hard outside. All I knew was that I didn’t want to be anywhere near that car when it did” (50). Ever since that day, the rain reminds Alex of his best friend and his guilt. Near the end of the novel, Alex washes away his guilt by staying with Isaiah until the end. Rain pours down on the brothers after they break the curse, casting off their oppressive knowledge of fate and regaining belief in their free will: “I don’t even care that we’re getting drenched by the rain. All I care about is that he’s squeezing me back, his little arms around my shoulders” (271). In this story, humans are as powerless to change fate as they are to stop the rain from falling, but free will allows them to either hide from the deluge or face it with courage. The motif of water appears during key plot events to develop the theme of fate and advance the protagonist’s characterization.

Music

Morris uses the motif of music to develop the theme of The Importance of Brotherhood. Both Alex and Isaiah have a deep love of music and of Shiv Skeptic in particular. After three years of essentially being strangers living in the same house, the rapper’s songs help the brothers reconnect. In Chapter 3, Alex and Isaiah rap along to one of Shiv Skeptic’s songs, and Alex realizes, “I haven’t been around enough to know him. We’ve had the same favorite artist for—what, months? Years even?” (66). Their connection over music helps the brothers open up about other personal topics, including their grief over their parents’ deaths and their psychic powers. In addition to advancing the character development, music also plays a prominent role in the plot. The Shiv Skeptic concert is the setting for several major events, including Alex and Talia’s breakup, the brothers’ breaking of the curse, Isaiah’s triumphant time as Izzy the Red Dragon, and the mass shooting that sends the brothers fleeing homeward and into Mr. Zaccari’s path. In only a few days, music helps the brothers rediscover and voice their love for one another. The motif of music grants insight into Alex’s characterization and relationships and plays an important role in the plot.

Money

Money serves as a motif for the theme of The Pressure to Grow Up Too Soon. While many personal and societal factors contribute to Alex’s belief that he must act like an adult, one of the primary reasons is the pressure to be a provider. Alex spent the first years of his life in East Garfield Park, a neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. Even after moving to Santiam Estates on the West Side, a gated community in which each house is worth “over a million dollars” (32), Alex continues to experience financial pressures. He keeps his job at Scoop’s ice cream shop so that he can help his girlfriend’s family make rent and because the connection between manhood and employment has been so ingrained in him.

Alex’s father impressed upon him the importance of making money from an early age: “Son, a man’s not a man without his paycheck” (95). These words come back to Alex repeatedly as he wrestles with the pressure to grow up throughout the novel. They appear in his thoughts when he decides to take a sick day in Chapter 4, when he agonizes over the decision between purchasing the concert tickets and helping the Gomezes make rent in Chapter 6, and when he chooses to go to Isaiah even though his boss threatens to fire him in Chapter 7. In the end, Alex decides that defending his loved ones is a greater proof of manhood than finances: “A man’s not a man without his paycheck. But a man who doesn’t protect his family is no man either” (158). After reaching this realization, Alex is able to spend his money in a way that reflects his actual age rather than the adult responsibilities he is been forced to take on too quickly. He buys expensive rave gloves for Isaiah and is rewarded with the sight of “joy bursting from him like [...] in the photo” of the brothers and their parents at the Bulls game (228). Ultimately, Alex unravels his beliefs about finances and growing up, and money becomes a way for Alex to reclaim his youth. The motif of money develops the theme of The Pressure to Grow Up Too Soon and illustrates Alex’s character development.