A Place Up Ahead Summary and Analysis

Two lines of the poem Cedric wrote for his education field experience say, "always looking at the same hues is really no fun/ Maybe I'll just let the colors run." Zayd agrees that these are the best of the entire piece. After a tense period, Cedric and Zayd are back to the old relationship with one important change. Cedric now sees himself as Zayd's equal, not as a ghetto black kid trying to find acceptance. This is a major step for Cedric, for he is no longer seeking acceptance from white students as an inferior but hard-working minority lacking in the necessary skills to succeed at Brown; he is approaching relationships as a social equal who needs to work hard academically to meet his own goals.

Mid-terms are upon the freshmen, and the accompanying stress...