In "We Real Cool," the teenaged boys construct their identity out of rebelling against the education system and dropping out of school. They are who they are because of their group identity: we note that none of them is named as an individual or even as an "I": they are a collective "we."

Their group identity revolves around having what to them is a good time: they stay up late, "strike straight" which means fight, "sin" (probably sexually), drink, and listen to jazz. Out of this lifestyle they construct a self-conceived identity that can be summed up in one word: cool.

They live very much in the present moment, having traded present pleasure for any future gain. They know that, because of their way of living, they will "die soon."

There is a pathos communicated through the few stark words of these young men, who feel so little hope for the future that they have adopted a "carpe diem" (seize the day) mentality.

In the poem, what you do seems to define who you are; however, you are not necessarily who you think you are. For example, the speakers stay out late, enjoy committing sins, drink, and party. These are the things that seem to make them who they are. It isn't what they think or what they dream or who or how they love: they are what they actually do. The narrators think they are "real cool," but Brooks leads readers to the conclusion that they are not, because it is not good or romantic or fun to "Die soon." The narrators think they are cool, but we know this is untrue, and this creates dramatic irony in the poem. Dramatic irony is when the reader knows more than the character. The boys' identities are revealed in their list of the things they enjoy, leading up to their tragic fate.