Racism: It Runs Deep
I really enjoyed reading Beatty's The White Boy Shuffle, especially the middle of the book as Gunnar is coming of age. Mr.Mitchell warned us that the book would continue to take a darker turn, but as I was reading I almost forgot how the narrator I had enjoyed listening to and reading, Gunnar, was going to end up leading a mass suicide. But when suicide became more and more of a theme in the novel, and especially when Scoby killed himself, I was still laughing, but it didn't feel right.
Gunnar's approach to racism is darkly humorous and very pessimistic. The idea that the only way to end racism and to stop the suffering of black people in America is to have all of them commit suicide seems crazy, but the way Gunnar puts it, it sounds like the only effective solution. Its simple; the problem just goes away. I don't think Beatty actually believes this is the right way, but he's making a very good point. Centuries have passed and racism is still among us. So many people are suffering and currently still are dealing with racism, even if it takes a different form. It might not be easy to pinpoint, but it's still there, lurking in our society and mixing in with our thoughts and speech and action. Its been here for so long that it goes unnoticed sometimes. People thought that Gunnar and Scoby had the perfect lives, professional and successful basketball players, very intelligent and smart, funny, well off, educated, etc. But what they didn't see was how depressed they were, and they never really saw Scoby and Gunnar for who they really were or wanted to be. They just worshipped them, but never really acknowledged them for who they really are. I like how Beatty used this novel to present these ideas on a personal level with the narrator, and really gets us thinking about how we view the world and people around us. We need to think on a deeper level about what racism really means, and what it could lead to, not just surface level.
Gunnar's approach to racism is darkly humorous and very pessimistic. The idea that the only way to end racism and to stop the suffering of black people in America is to have all of them commit suicide seems crazy, but the way Gunnar puts it, it sounds like the only effective solution. Its simple; the problem just goes away. I don't think Beatty actually believes this is the right way, but he's making a very good point. Centuries have passed and racism is still among us. So many people are suffering and currently still are dealing with racism, even if it takes a different form. It might not be easy to pinpoint, but it's still there, lurking in our society and mixing in with our thoughts and speech and action. Its been here for so long that it goes unnoticed sometimes. People thought that Gunnar and Scoby had the perfect lives, professional and successful basketball players, very intelligent and smart, funny, well off, educated, etc. But what they didn't see was how depressed they were, and they never really saw Scoby and Gunnar for who they really were or wanted to be. They just worshipped them, but never really acknowledged them for who they really are. I like how Beatty used this novel to present these ideas on a personal level with the narrator, and really gets us thinking about how we view the world and people around us. We need to think on a deeper level about what racism really means, and what it could lead to, not just surface level.
What I found interesting about your argument, regarding racism still being a prevalent issue today, but often going unnoticed, is that the laughter throughout the novel can be used as a sort of metaphor for this. As you mention, it is hard not to laugh during the novel and easy to forget the serious context of suicide and racism because Gunnar is very talented at entertaining his audience. At the same time this brings up the uncomfortable point that African Americans are also often portrayed as entertainers. Interesting post!
ReplyDeleteI just read Ethan's blog post (http://ethanshouseofbounce.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-apple-never-left-tree.html) and it had a super good explanation for Gunnar's kind of abrupt "obsession", I guess you could call it, with suicide. But yeah, I think Beatty opens up a really interesting discussion about the subtle, or maybe not so subtle, parts of racism that are still super pervasive in our society, and also mental health in general.
ReplyDeleteI think the way Beatty presents suicide as the only escape from racism shouldn't really be that surprising given the content of the rest of the book. Death, and other dark subjects are talked about in a very light, ,comedic tone. Additionally the way he talks about racism definitely gives the reader an idea of how long it's lasted so far and how inescapable it seems. Just based on those two things I wasn't really that surprised by his solution.
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