How does the setting of Harlem and the Harlem Renaissance contribute to Tommy’s view of himself as a black man? What happens to Tommy’s sense of himself whenever he leaves Harlem and travels to white neighborhoods?

In Tommy’s quest to obtain supernatural powers, he loses his moral compass and gives himself over to evil. By the end of the novella, is Black Tom a tragic hero, an anti-hero, or simply a villain?

The second half of the story is from Detective Malone’s point of view. In what ways are Malone and Tommy similar or different? What might LaValle be trying to say by setting up a white character and a black character as mirrors for one another?