Dark Present and the Possibility

dark present and the possibility of a brighter future, when there will finally be peace among the people: "And it came ta me: 'Twi,' abbreviation of the word 'twice' ... 'Light' is a word that symbolizes knowledge, knowing....So twilight is that time between day and night. Limbo. I call it limbo....So a lot of times when I've brought up ideas to my homeboys, they say, 'Twilight, that's before your time, that's something you can't do now.' When I talked about the truce back in 1988, that was something they considered before its time, yet in 1992 we made it realistic. So to me it's like I'm stuck in limbo, like the sun is stuck between night and day in the twilight hours. (Smith, 253-4) Twilight is ahead of his time because he believes that a change is possible and that the conflict can be some day attenuated. This is why he interprets his name as "twice more light," that is, twice more wisdom. He is thus one of the very few who can actually do more than just notice the violence and the conflict and who actually tries to take action. In spite of the fact that he himself is black and he has seen and experienced himself oppression and discrimination, Twilight Bay tries to make a difference socially, even in the middle of the chaos created by the killings and attacks after the verdict in the King case. He has ideas and he shares them with his gang and the fact that these ideas seem unfit for his time makes him feel as if he were living in the twilight permanently: "Twilight is that time of day between day & #8230;and night….limbo, I call it limbo, ...and sometimes when I take my ideas to my & #8230;homeboys & #8230;they say, well Twilight, that's something you & #8230;.can't do right now, & #8230;.that's an idea before its time.….So sometimes I feel as thought I'm stuck in limbo & #8230;the way the sun is stuck between night and & #8230;day & #8230;in the twilight hours."(Smith, 254) His philosophy is also very symbolic: he is black and so, in a way, he feels he belongs to darkness. At the same time however, he tries to mediate the conflict between races, and therefore he is symbolically between the white and the black color: "Nighttime to me is like a lack of sun, & #8230;but I don't affiliate darkness with anything negative. I affiliate darkness with what came first, & #8230;because it was first, & #8230;and relative to my complexion, I am a dark individual & #8230;and with me being stuck in limbo & #8230;.I see the darkness as myself. & #8230;and I see the light as the knowledge and & #8230;the wisdom of the world, and the understanding of others."(Smith, 255) Twilight thus believes in understanding and tolerance between people, and this is why he associates his own name with an enlightenment. He is at the same time a philosopher, an advocator of peace and tolerance and an activist. Although at this time he is still watching over his own gang against the others and therefore identifying himself with his own race and with the people who are just like him, Twilight realizes there is need for a change in the way people perceive difference and react in multicultural environments: "And I know & #8230;in order for me to be a full human & #8230;being & #8230;I cannot forever dwell in darkness I cannot forever dwell in the idea & #8230;of identifying with those like me & #8230;and understanding only me and mine."(Smith, 255) Twilight identifies himself with his race, but feels that in order to be fully human, he needs to see himself as part of the whole humanity and understand those who are human also, although they are not like him. Thus, Twilight is a complex character, a political activist who although has scope over his neighborhood only, is able to change something because he has a deeper understanding of difference and humanity than the others. Overall, Twilight is first of all wiser than many pf the other people and can represent the beginning of a new social age, based on tolerance and understanding: "I was twelve and thirteen, I stayed out until, they say, until the sun come up. Every night, you know.... I was a watchdog.... I stayed up in the neighborhood, make sure we wasn't being rolled on and everything ... A lot of people said, "Well. Twilight ... you have a lot more wisdom than those twice your age".... (Smith, 256)Twilight is therefore a wise political activist of the street, who has a clearer view of racial differences than most of the people around them, and who, although in the middle of a conflict where it would be hard to be impartial, can see that people have to think differently so as to be true to their own humanity.