Vocabulary & Context
A lower-income neighborhood changes into a wealthier area as richer residents move in, renovate properties, and drive up housing costs and property values
Gentrification
The media and court system stripped away Amal’s voice by using this negative word to describe his group of friends, while calling the white boys "kids having fun."
mob (or "wolf pack")
The label or stereotype the justice system tried to force onto Amal during his trial instead of seeing him as an artist and teenager.
criminal
Punching the Air is not written in traditional prose paragraphs; it is written in this form of storytelling using stanzas and line breaks.
verse (or novel-in-verse)
The quality or strength that allows a person to bounce back and stay mentally strong when facing tough situations or heavy environments.
Resilience
The institutional system where rules, laws, or social biases unfairly disadvantage specific racial or background groups.
Systemic Inequity/Systemic racism
A quote from Ms Rinaldi's evidence showing her prejudice against Amal.
Did Amal ever display emotions that were—
Yes, Ms. Rinaldi said
That’s why I work so hard with Amal
To channel his anger into his art
The main medium or tool Amal uses inside his cell to keep his mind free and maintain his identity when his physical body is locked up.
art (or poetry / hip-hop / rap lyrics / notebook)
A direct comparison between two things without using "like" or "as" (e.g., calling a small cell a "tomb").
metaphor
Throughout the novel, Amal uses his notebook as a space where guards and judges can't control him. What term describes using creative outlets (like writing, art, or fitness) to protect your mind and cope with hard times?
coping mechanism
(or healthy creative outlet / self-expression)
The slave trade is compared to
The school-to-prison pipeline for many African Americans today
When Kadon urges Amal to join a "crew" for protection inside the facility, Amal resists because he feels joining a group creates another set of these.
corners (or boxes/walls)
This term describes the pipeline that pushes young people out of public schools and into juvenile or adult detention facilities.
School-to-Prison Pipeline
When Amal contrasts the cold steel of the cell bars with the vibrant warmth of his artwork, he is using this literary device to highlight two opposite ideas side-by-side.
juxtaposition
A healthy creative outlet or tool a person can use to release anger, stress, or grief when physical surroundings feel overwhelming.
music, poetry, art, journaling, or fitness?
Placing two contrasting images, ideas, or words side-by-side to highlight their stark differences.
Juxtaposition
Amal explains how the negative impacts of gentrification led to the fight.
So it wasn’t about/who threw the first punch/It was about courts, turf, space/Me and them other boys/were just trying to go home
How the court system took away Amal's agency during his trial.
Not letting Amal tell his own story (did not testify)
In verse novels, the intentional arrangement of words on a page with empty space around them to slow down the reader or emphasize emotion.
White Space
The difference between physical freedom and internal (mental) freedom, as demonstrated by Amal in his cell.
physical freedom is where your body is
internal freedom is how you choose to think/feel
Being trapped, enclosed, or buried in a dark or tight space, either physically (like a cell) or mentally.
Entombment
In "The Entombment II," Amal uses this scientific term to describe how one tiny action or choice can cause a massive chain reaction of life-altering events.
Butterfly Effect
The core reason why Amal refuses to let the guards or the facility break his spirit, showing that physical containment cannot control this.
mind / intellect / spirit / creativity / truth
The recurring symbol in the text that represents transformation, beauty emerging from darkness, and mental escape.
butterfly (light/paint)