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My third Black Friday, the company wasn’t She rushes toward me. I dangle the coat
5
doing great. There was no commission and no out to the side like a matador. She runs toward
prize. I still outsold everybody. it, and I let go and leap out of the way as she
Back in the store, there’s a new body in the 75 comes crashing through the parka. Then with
body pile and in PoleFace TM a young woman the coat in her hands, she says, “Thank you,” in
is trying to kill Angela. She’s clawing and a raspy voice. I watch her at the register. “Have
screaming, and even from the store entrance, a nice day,” Richard says, as he rings her up.
I know what she wants. Angela is pinned against She growls, then says, “You, too.” I punch back
Redefining America
the wall where the SuperShells are. It looks like in at the computer. Angela puts a hand on my
the girl is about to bite Angela’s nose off. Lance is shoulder. “Thanks,” she says.
rolling a teen toward the body pile, and Michel is “Yup,” I say, and then I go back to my section.
helping a customer in the shoe section. Richard A herd of shoppers stops in front of the store. 80
looks at me and points to Angela and the girl. They see the PoleFace TM we have left. I climb on
I know what the girl wants. top of my cabin. The people stampede. Some
“Help!” Angela yells, turning to look at me. bodies fall and get up. Some bodies fall and
She has a reach between her and the girl, but stay down. They scream and hiss and claw and
she won’t last much longer. I turn and go to the moan. I grab my reach and watch the blood-
back room. I look up at the only large SuperShell messed humans with money in their wallets and
parka hanging there. I pull it off the hanger. I go the Friday Black in their brains run toward me.
outside, and the girl can smell it. She looks in my I smile out at the crowd. “How can I help you
direction and howls like a wolf. today?”
I won’t be alone with this, she’s saying. They push and point in all directions.
They’ll like me now. 2018

Understanding and Interpreting

1. Who is the narrator of this story, and how does he characterize himself in paragraphs 1–7?
What do you learn about his attitude toward his job, the “holiday” of Black Friday, and the
“shoppers” who participate?
2. What effect did being bitten by a shopper on his first Black Friday have on the narrator? What
did he gain from the experience?
3. How do you respond to the violence being described throughout the story? In what ways
might Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s detailed descriptions of that violence contribute to — or
detract from — the ideas his story explores?
4. The character Duo appears three times in the story. How is he portrayed when we first
meet him? What function does this character serve? What tension does he add when he
reappears in later scenes? Ultimately, is he the conscience of the story, a foil for the narrator,
or something else entirely? Explain your response with specific textual references.
5. In a dystopian society, propaganda is used to control people, and information and
independent thought are restricted. To what extent is the retail store in “Friday Black” a
dystopian setting, according to this definition? What form(s) does the propaganda in this
story take?
6. What connection does the story ultimately draw between consumerism and materialism and
love and approval? Cite specific passages to support your interpretation.
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