The prologue in The White Boy Shuffle gives a very sinister reality in which black Americans have given up all hope of achieving equality. For a novel written far closer to the present in relation to the three others we’ve read in class, I’m not so surprised this one seems more aggressive in its tone. With swear words and dark imagery, the novel starts out with a setting that pulls the reader in.
The novel comes after the civil rights movement, which was a time full of change and hope for African American equality, yet it was met with assassinations and true equality was still kept from protestors by the racist white establishment.
The novel comes after the civil rights movement, which was a time full of change and hope for African American equality, yet it was met with assassinations and true equality was still kept from protestors by the racist white establishment.
Even today, our American society has a long way to go before we reach true social equality. It is not a new epidemic that officers have been killing black Americans over minor offenses. The media has been giving these crimes more attention, and the Black Lives Matter movement has gained a lot of momentum, which are great steps, however these have not yet changed the fact that the officers more often than not receive no punishment for their actions, and justice, in many cases, in not served. (EDIT think of Rodney King all the way up to Michael Brown and the countless others who have become victims) Even today, in 2016, the prologue of The White Boy Shuffle may have some sort of point. I’m not saying its hopeless, nor am I saying that suicide is the way to go when things are looking rough, but try to imagine how it must feel that after hundreds of years of a fight for something so simple — to be treated like humans with human rights, to be treated the same as any white person — it must get really old when so many people refuse to listen. The prologue seems to be asking “What’s the point?” when one of the most important values of the American constitution “liberty and justice for all” fails an entire race of people…
It’s a very dramatic contrast with Invisible Man, in which the narrator’s protest is individual. He doesn’t seem to be making that big of a difference in the big picture, but what matters to him is his personal defiance. Also, for some reason, the narrator really enjoys the American constitution and is totally jazzed by the Founding Fathers. Not to say Invisible Man isn’t a great novel in terms of protesting the white establishment, these two novels just take very different stances on how to successfully protest I guess? I think Native Son is closer to The White Boy Shuffle's prologue because of the futility expressed in both. Considering how aggressive Richard Wright is about ****THE CORRECT PROTEST NOVEL**** I'd like to see what he thinks of The White Boy Shuffle, and the prologue especially. There is definitely a possibility that The White Boy Shuffle has taken inspiration from both novels, and may be making commentary on both of them in order to add a modern contribution to the protest conversation.
I can't wait to see how Gunnar grows up to become the radical leader he says he is. Let me know what you think of the prologue! Do you think its reflective of some of the attitudes of post civil rights protestors? Do you think post civil rights activists felt, and possibly still feel that they need to make an even larger statement to make a change?
I'd like to think that this hopeless attitude doesn't coincide with the views of today's social justice activists. I think a lot of people today recognize the racism that is built into the way our society functions but the people that are still fighting for civil rights don't seem to share Gunnar's idea of just giving up.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I have heard some people express how they feel like there protests are getting nowhere. Especially with all of the recent violence. Unfortunately, this culture-wide depression that Beatty describes is very real.
To be honest, I wasn't even thinking of Beatty's novel as a protest of anything. Perhaps because of the defeatism in the prologue, it made me feel that is was more of a statement of inevitable facts rather than the rallying cry that is Native Son. I definitely agree with Renata, this hopeless attitude is a very sobering sign, as depressing as it is. Especially as we watch Gunnar grow and develop and sprout his wings, much like Bigger Thomas did over the span of a few hours on the first day we meet him, it is saddening to know that at some point he will come to wait for a nuclear strike to wipe out his race.
ReplyDeleteI think that "[not] a protest of anything" is an interesting idea. I think the big idea of the protest novel is that there is something wrong with society, the book casts light on the issue or illuminates arguments concerning it, and the natural follow-through is to go out and do something about it, or at least be active and "protest." However, pretty controversially, Gunnar in WBS rejects this do something attitude and we much more despair than anger, and a desire for some dignity than to be shot on his ass while fighting in his mind uselessly for what is right.
DeleteIt seems as though Gunnar is an extremely off the wall character who is bombarded from all sides by expectations and racism. I think the colorful language helps to show the true emotion behind what Gunnar is thinking. Gone are the days when African Americans had to show there "true intelligence" while still writing protest fiction. New protest fiction is able to capture the essence and actual language used by African Americans to endure the struggle of being black in America.
ReplyDeleteAt first when i read the ending I was filled with a sense of sadness and hopelessness. Though I in some ways still feel a bit of this, after the class discussion i realize that Gunnar's suicide really isn't meant to be a sign of giving up, but instead triumphing over the oppressors and society. Also, i agree with Renata that today's perspectives seem to be not as hopeless and many recognize the inbuilt racism that we have in our society, though there is still ignorance from many.
ReplyDeleteIt would seem that the novel is apparently advocating a complete abandonment of "protest" altogether--whether of the sit-in variety, or the "political poetry" variety. But if we look at the *novel* itself, not the story it tells, it is possible to read Beatty as using this extreme and hyperbolic idea of a mass suicide/nuclear holocaust of black people in America as a form of literary protest--or maybe something more like political satire, where an outlandish idea is used to make the reader consider not-so-outlandish realities in a new and provocative light. In other words, Beatty's novel makes innumerable thought-provoking points about American culture and the persistence of racism despite legislative advances in civil rights--the author clearly doesn't think it "pointless" to do so, even as his novel challenges a reader to contemplate just how significant an agent of change art can be.
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