Self-Portrait in a Tanning Bed: Chapter 20 Summary & Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

The chapter opens with the speaker acknowledging it is February and that she is the only Black girl at Future Tan Tanning Salon. She laughs when she enters her private room and sees an African mask above the clothes racks, a moment that immediately highlights a clash of cultures and expectations. Naked, she climbs onto the plexiglass bed and hears it creak, which leads her to wonder—as she often does when alone—what would happen if she died there, torched by the ultraviolet rods. She gently closes the canopy of the Sun Capsule Super Cyclone 350 and, through tiny goggles, sees her reflection. At first she thinks she looks like a “reverse coon” with huge black eyes, but then admits she likes the way she looks: darker, like a time traveler. The thought makes her wonder how her breasts sometimes appear to her lover. She concludes that she is sad or something, and worries how much time has passed since she was last there.

Key Events

The speaker enters Future Tan Tanning Salon in February, noting she is the only Black customer.
She laughs at the African mask placed above the coat hangers in her private room.
She undresses, lies on the plexiglass bed, and hears it creak.
The speaker contemplates dying in the machine if the plastic gives and the UV lights burn her.
She closes the canopy and views her own reflection through small protective goggles.
She compares her goggled face to a “reverse coon” but then appreciates the darker, time‑traveler look.
The thought of her lover’s perspective on her body surfaces.
She acknowledges a feeling of sadness and worries about how long it has been since her last visit.

Character Development

The speaker emerges as a reflective and self‑aware figure. In this solitary scene she oscillates between irony and genuine vulnerability. She acknowledges the absurdity of the African mask in a tanning salon, yet also lets herself inhabit the experience, examining her own image and body with a mixture of discomfort and curiosity. The poem suggests that beneath the wry humor lies a current of sadness and a preoccupation with time and mortality.
The lover remains off‑stage but is invoked as an imagined witness to the speaker’s body. This brief reference hints at intimacy and the speaker’s desire to be seen (or to see herself) through another’s eyes.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Irony and Race: The African mask—a traditional artifact of Black culture—hanging in a space that markets whiteness (tanning) is deliberately ironic. The speaker laughs, signaling her awareness of the contradiction. The “reverse coon” comment further layers racial caricature and self‑representation, showing how racial identity can be both mocked and reclaimed in private moments.
Vulnerability and Mortality: Lying naked on a mechanical bed, the speaker imagines dying in the machine. The creaking plexiglass and the threat of “torched” flesh underscore the fragility of the body. This motif of mortality recurs throughout the collection, and here it is tied to a mundane act of self‑care.
Time and Self‑Perception: The speaker worries about how much time has passed since she last tanned, linking the passage of time to changes in her appearance and perhaps to a sense of drifting. The “time traveler” simile suggests a desire to leap forward or backward in identity, while the static mirror of the canopy forces her to confront her present self.
Light and Transformation: The purple cylinders of light, the ultraviolet rods, and the goggles all contribute to a surreal, almost sci‑fi atmosphere. The tanning bed becomes a machine of transformation—both physical (darker skin) and psychological (altered self‑image).

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter deepens the collection’s ongoing exploration of Black identity within predominantly white spaces. The tanning salon is an unlikely setting for a Black speaker, and the poem uses that tension to examine how race is performed, commercialized, and internalized. At the same time, the speaker’s private fear of dying and her quiet sadness reveal a character who is not defined solely by race but by universal anxieties about time, love, and self‑worth. The poem’s brevity and concentrated imagery make it a powerful snapshot of a single, intimate moment.

Study Questions and Answers

1. How does the African mask function as a symbol in this poem?
The mask represents a clash of cultures. Placed in a tanning salon—an environment typically associated with modifying skin color—the mask mocks the very idea of being Black in a space that tries to commodify whiteness. The speaker’s laugh acknowledges the absurdity, and the mask also hints at how Black imagery can be reduced to decoration. It sets the stage for the speaker’s ironic self‑examination.

2. Why does the speaker compare herself to a “reverse coon”? What does this reveal about her self‑image?
The term “reverse coon” inverts a racial slur, re‑appropriating it to describe her own goggle‑eyed reflection. It shows that the speaker is fluent in the language of racial caricature and is willing to use it ironically on herself. At the same time, she immediately says she likes the look—suggesting a complicated negotiation between internalized stereotypes and genuine self‑acceptance.

3. What does the mention of her lover and the question of how much time has passed add to the poem’s mood?
The lover’s imagined gaze introduces intimacy and reminds the speaker (and the reader) that her body exists in relation to others. The worry about time passing—“how much time has passed since I’ve been here”—suggests a sense of drift or neglect. Together, these lines shift the poem from a purely ironic or racial meditation to a personal, melancholic reflection on connection and absence.