Sunday
Rashad
Rashad wakes up to an empty hospital room and thinks about how he missed Jill’s party on Friday night and the opportunity to dance and flirt with his crush, Tiffany. Clarissa comes in, gives Rashad lunch, and tells him he needs to try to stand up and move around. She also has him cough into a device called a spirometer to make sure he ejects the fluids from his lungs and doesn’t develop pneumonia. When she leaves, he makes his painful way out of bed to use the bathroom, where he finds he can’t look for too long at his bruised face in the mirror. His parents then arrive with the family pastor, and he climbs back into his bed, embarrassed to be caught in his hospital gown. Pastor Johnson tells Rashad that God is always there for him and that “everything happens for a reason,” which angers Rashad, who finds it unlikely that there could have been a valid reason for him to have become a victim of an unprovoked beating. Rashad listens to his family and the pastor pray but does not join them.
Spoony arrives as Pastor Johnson is leaving and switches on the television. On the news is a smartphone video of Rashad being beaten, with a newscaster identifying Rashad by name and commenting that the police officer appears to be using “unnecessary force.” Rashad’s father is angry at Spoony and the media attention and storms out of the room. As the news story plays on a loop, an image of Rashad in his JROTC uniform appears on screen, and Spoony admits that he sent it to the news as a way to “control the narrative.” Eventually, Rashad asks Spoony to turn off the television, as watching the new story over and over makes him uncomfortable. His mother gives him his phone, which shows text messages from Spoony, Carlos, and Shannon. The first few texts from Friday night are asking where he is, but the final text from Carlos says, “Yo, you on the news! Crazy!” Rashad responds to his friends letting them know that he is safe. When Rashad’s father returns, it seems like he and Spoony are going to begin arguing again, so Rashad turns on a football game. After the game, his family leaves, and Rashad turns back to the news, where he learns the name of the officer who beat him: Paul Galuzzo.
Quinn
On Saturday night, Quinn watches a movie and plays video games with Willy, trying to forget about the events of Friday and the upcoming barbecue. The next day, he and his family go to the Galluzzos’ barbecue to find it packed with people from the neighborhood. Although Quinn describes the Galluzzos’ house as a second home, today he feels strange there. From the porch, he sees the burly figure of Paul, who appears to be the cause of the party, flipping hamburgers at the grill. Quinn makes his way over to Jill, who strikes up a conversation with him about being scouted for a basketball scholarship, but soon sees Guzzo talking to Paul on the other side of the porch and gesturing toward Quinn. Jill tells Quinn that no one got into trouble the night of her party, even though it was broken up by the police. The officers simply told her to send everyone home, and before leaving, another cop told her not to “fuck this up for your family.” She also mentions that she thought it was strange that they hadn’t called Paul to the scene but that she thinks she knows why, and Quinn...
(This entire section contains 1315 words.)
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admits to her that he saw the beating happen. When Jill tells him that the victim was Rashad, Quinn feels stupid for not having been able to recognize his classmate. Jill asks him some questions about that night, but Quinn keeps his responses vague.
Paul then calls Quinn over to help serve the burgers. When Quinn approaches, he sees that Paul has his right hand in a bucket of ice, and his knuckles are scabbed over. Guzzo asks Quinn why he didn’t come over to say hello right away, and Quinn becomes defensive, saying that he was just mingling. Sensing the tension, Paul tells them that they need to keep it together for the upcoming basketball season; if the players aren’t in sync with each other, they won’t have a chance of winning. He sends Guzzo into the kitchen to make sure the burger toppings are ready and takes Quinn by the arm to suggest that Quinn stop by their house more often to practice basketball. Paul then asks Quinn if everything is alright, and Quinn does his best to avoid the question, saying that he needs to serve the burgers before they’re cold.
Later, as Quinn eats, he wonders how Paul can be so nonchalant, why no one else thinks it strange that the Galuzzos have suddenly thrown a party, and why no one is acknowledging that Paul is in the news. Still feeling uneasy, he goes to the kitchen to find Jill, who is fighting with her mother and Mrs. Galuzzo about Friday’s party. Jill’s mother accuses her of relying on Paul to bail her out of trouble; when Jill says that Paul has bigger things to worry about, everyone goes silent, and Jill apologizes to Mrs. Galuzzo. They then realize that Paul has overheard their conversation, as he has been standing at the screen door. At that moment, they hear a newscaster on the Galluzzos’ television reference new developments in the story of Paul’s arrest of Rashad, followed by the television being suddenly muted. Mr. Galuzzo appears and suggests Paul make more burgers, but Paul says that he would rather not and that right now, he needs the support of his family, adding, “you too, Quinn.” He then invites Quinn, Guzzo, and Dwyer to play basketball with him.
On his way to the court, Quinn taps Jill’s arm to let her know that she is not alone. As Quinn, Guzzo, Paul, and Dwyer play basketball, Paul plays aggressively and repeatedly blocks Quinn, using his large frame and the narrow driveway to take advantage of Quinn’s playing style. Although Paul says he is just trying to help Quinn improve, Quinn eventually gives up, tosses the ball into the yard, and goes home.
Analysis
In his section of “Sunday,” Rashad questions the existence of God. This is particularly significant because Sunday is traditionally a day of worship, an affirmation of God, and Rashad’s thoughts on this day show how significantly shaken he is by his experience with police brutality. With God, there is order, structure, and reason—a point that Pastor Johnson makes and that makes Rashad feel resentful. As he cannot fathom a legitimate reason for the violence he has endured, Rashad begins to think that there is no real order in the world and that God must be absent. A contrast to Pastor Jerome appears in Rashad’s brother, Spoony, who has found a cell phone video of the beating online and contacted the news to control the narrative. While the pastor suggests that Rashad have faith that there is a reason for his suffering, Spoony suggests that people cannot passively accept injustice—instead, action must be taken. This ties in to a the events of “Saturday,” when Rashad feels like a passive observer to a Lifetime movie, and Quinn feels like Jill’s party is passing him by as he watches it through a window. The novel does not necessarily disparage religion, but Rashad’s and Quinn’s stories cast faith as a relatively passive activity: what is important is that, whether or not they believe in God, individuals respond to and act within the world around them to the full extent of their ability.
