Themes and message

The main themes of the story “The Baddest Dog in Harlem” by Walter Dean Myers are death and discrimination. The author e…

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Death

The theme of death is explored in the story through the plot. The inciting action is the alleged presence of a shooter in a building in Harlem, which brings the policemen to the scene of the narrative. The narrator and his friends begin to fear for their lives realizing that the shooter might also target them. So, they make every effort to protect themselves. They want to get away from the street, they duck…

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Discrimination

The theme of discrimination is explored in the short story through the attitude of the policemen towards the people in Harlem. Harlem was (and still is) an area mostly inhabited by African-Americans. The policemen who came to the area were mostly white (only one of them was African-American). From the moment they encountered the narrator and his friends, they treated them like possible suspects. Furthermore, they did the same with the woman who owned the apartment they shot at. They showed little respect for the…