Reese seems hyper aware of people's race—it's the first thing he notices about any given character in Lockdown. Since we're looking at the world through his eyes, that means we readers are hyper aware of it, too. Through Reese, we observe racial disparity in a variety of settings, including Progress and Evergreen.
At Progress, most of the inmates are people of color, whereas most of the employees are white. At Evergreen, the staff is mostly people of color, and the residents are all white. In addition to dealing with racial inequality, Reese is forced to deal with straight-up racism. Mr. Hooft makes some terrible comments about black people, but Reese knows that fighting back will only make his situation worse. Ugh.
Questions About Race
- Why do you think Reese is so tuned into people's racial backgrounds? Be specific and give examples from the text.
- How do you think Reese's life would be different, if it all, if he were white? Why?
- Reese often feels that the employees at Progress treat him like garbage. Is he treated poorly because he's black? Or do you think it's something else?
Chew on This
Lockdown demonstrates how racial inequality impacts the justice system.
In the world of Lockdown, class seems like a more important consideration than race.