Honky is the story of Dalton growing up among different races, trying to find his true identity and his place in society.
At the age of three, Dalton is oblivious to race and skin color, as he happily "kidnaps" a black baby in her carriage. However, as soon as he and his sister go to nursery school, he learns about the concept of race, and that apparently some are more favorable than others. For example, when his sister receives a white doll, all the other kids, who were given dolls of different skin colors, want a white one as well.
He also learns that race determines how people are treated. When he attends "mini school," he is the only white student in a classroom full of black kids, and he is also the only one who does not receive any corporal punishment.
Another advantage of belonging to the middle and upper class is the freedom to construct their own narrative of cause and effect. He learns that he is never questioned when he presents his side of the story. For example, he lies, or "withholds information" as he calls it, when he confesses his stealing from a shop. Later, when the fire official interrogates him, he lies about the true cause of the fire in Raphael's apartment. Again, his version of the story is accepted without being challenged.
Throughout the story, Dalton is trying to become a part of a group. For example, he is the only white kid among his group of friends in the projects, imitating the way they speak and behave. When he is transferred to the middle-class school in Greenwich Village, he masters the art of blending in, imitating the way the students there speak, but he realizes that he does not look the part. In order to be a fully accepted member of the group, he has to wear the same designer clothes. At the same time, his desire to be a part of this new group of white children alienates him from his group of former friends.
In the end, however, Dalton realizes that his white complexion alone is not enough to be accepted by his peers: When he overhears a conversation among potential friends calling him socially awkward, he understands that personality is equally important.
