ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the metaphor of an alloy—two or more metals, which, when combined, form a new metal often stronger than the sum of its parts—is used to explore the experiences of multiracial, multiethnic, and multicultural characters in Brandy Colbert’s Little and Lion. Seeing mixed individuals as alloys suggests complex, unified identities rather than a combination of parts that can be divided (e.g., half Asian, a quarter black, and a quarter Jewish). An alloy lens draws on Maria Root’s (1996, 2003) work with multiracial and multiethnic participants, whom she describes as “a new racial group,” as well as Gloria Anzaldúa’s (1987/2012, 2015) writing about intersectionality. In addition to offering a reading of Little and Lion through an alloy lens, the chapter highlights instructional practices that engage adolescent readers in the development and application of an alloy lens themselves. Contemporaneously reading the novel and exploring theoretical foundations that may inform it, students develop and define an alloy lens, ultimately inhabiting the perspectives of the alloys and fostering an ability to border cross and see from multiple perspectives.
