Punching the Air

Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | YA | Published in 2020

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Character Analysis

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Character Analysis

Amal

Amal Shahid is the protagonist and narrator of Punching the Air. At the age of 16, he was wrongfully convicted of beating Jeremy Mathis into a coma with his skateboard. Although he pleaded not guilty in court, the character descriptions from his teachers and the lack of faith from his initial lawyer painted him as a “monster” (16). Amal’s writing reveals that Amal believes himself to be a product of a racist system, one that pits white people against Black people. Everything that happens to Amal is because he is Black. The world has been set up to see him as violent and uneducated even though he knows that he is not. The juxtaposition of who Amal truly is versus what people see him as is what causes most of the inner conflict for Amal in the novel.

Amal’s image of himself is one of a loving son and talented artist and poet. He respects his mother and is close with her. He can tell from her facial expressions what she is feeling, and they share similar mantras, like Maya Angelou’s words about dust rising as a symbol for perseverance (181). Without a father figure in his life besides his Uncle Rashon, Amal’s mother is his greatest cheerleader. However, outside of his mother, Amal has very few people who encourage him and his talent. Even though he goes to a special arts high school, he is not reassured by his teachers that his talent as an artist is worthy of notice. Surrounded by white students and white teachers, Amal feels like the school punishes him for being Black, especially when he questions the curriculum choices of his teachers, choices that omit Black artists in favor of white artists.

His ability to question the world around him and see it with a critical eye is what makes Amal even more furious with his predicament. He knows that if he were white, he would not be in jail for what happened. While in jail, he attends Imani’s poetry class and meets with Dr. Kwesi Bennu. Both affirm the unfairness of the system against Black people, and Amal’s interactions with them add to the justification of his rage. Even with Jeremy waking up and ready to make a statement that hopefully will exonerate him, Amal’s hope is cautious. Through his art, he expresses his need to be seen as a person instead of just another Black man harmed by the system. He paints depictions of famous artwork, but with Black people instead of white people, to send to Imani to show his hope of not being painted as a monster. Amal wishes that others see him as a human being with hopes and dreams.

Umi

Umi is the most important person in Amal’s life. From the very first poem, “Birth,” Amal explains how his mother would make him watch the video of his birth every year on his birthday because “You gotta remember / where you came from!” (3). She has pride in being Amal’s mother and wants him to know that her role as mother has importance. As his biggest supporter, Umi is one of the only people to truly encourage Amal’s artwork and sees his talent from a young age. Even when getting in trouble in school for pushing against authority, Umi showed Amal love and support while reprimanding him for his actions.

When Amal goes to prison, Umi writes often to tell him to behave well and have hope. She believes in Amal’s innocence. Although the prison is a five-hour ride away, Umi visits Amal once a month and reiterates her faith in him as they both wait for Jeremy to awaken from his coma. Toward the end of the novel, Umi fires Clyde, their original lawyer, and hires a new lawyer. The new lawyer is Black, and Umi believes he will do a better job. This is especially important because Jeremy soon begins to recover. Umi only misses her monthly visit to Amal once, and that’s because Jeremy finally wakes up and she wants to be in the hospital room to make sure everything goes right with his statement. As Amal’s mother, she is supportive, unwavering in her love, and will always try her best to do what’s right for her child.

Ms. Rinaldi

Ms. Rinaldi is Amal’s high school art teacher. She gives a character testimony for Amal during his trial and tells the jurors and judge that she believes Amal has issues with his anger. Her testimony proves to Amal that

She’s never seen [him]

She only sees [his] paintings and drawings

as if [Amal] and what [he creates]

are two different worlds (10).

Ms. Rinaldi can recognize Amal’s talent, but only because she separates Amal being Black from his art; in reality, they are interconnected.

Ms. Rinaldi’s privilege prevents her from seeing Amal as a talented young artist and instead creates biases. She focuses on these biases, thus seeing Amal’s frustrations with the system as challenges to authority. In her AP Art History class, Amal is the only person who is not white, and when he asks why they only study dead white artists she reprimands him. Amal fails her class. Ms. Rinaldi represents those who seem kind-hearted but who have the potential to cause a lot of harm because of their biases.

Imani Dawson

Imani is the Black poetry teacher in prison who pushes Amal and the other young men to express themselves and reflect on their situations. Although Amal has a difficult time with her in the beginning due to his struggle to self-reflect, he eventually becomes an important part of Imani’s class. She is a vital part of Amal’s growth in prison, especially because of how she labels herself as a prison abolitionist:

By calling myself a

prison abolitionist

I mean that I’m part of

a movement

that is fighting to abolish

the prison industrial complex

as we know it (218-19).

Imani knows about the unfairness Black people experience, and she is passionate and articulate about wanting to end it. She sees her time teaching in the prison as the right step to help people in prison see how the system has placed them there.

Imani is also the person who encourages Amal’s love of art by giving him the power to repaint the mural in the visiting room. She sees Amal for who he truly is, not as a monster or as an inmate, but as a Black kid who got trapped by the system. This understanding, along with her unwavering encouragement, helps Amal start to heal through his art. At the end of the novel, Amal sends his paintings to Imani with the label “my truth,” a sign that Imani had a large impact on Amal’s sense of self while in prison (386).