Incident

In the Incident,what is described is a young black boy's ride in to town on his bicycle. He encounters another boy, who didn't look much older than him. The poem makes you assume that the boy thinks he might be nice: "Now I was eight and very small, And he was no whit bigger,And so I smiled," but then the boy sadly realizes the other boy does not want to associate with him when he poked out "His tongue, and called me, 'Nigger.'"

This is an aspect of dissillusionment. The boys ride into town began a happy one, not caring about what color he was, or where he was, so it never crossed his mind that someone might be prejudice towards him. So when he smiles at the boy he is in the illusion that the boy might be nice back to him. The Incident was probably named to describe the suprising aspect of realizing that you are seperated because of race.