So after having finished White Boy Shuffle and had some time to think about it, I would like to use this post to just sorta set out my thoughts on the book, and just generally how I reacted to it.
I really liked White Boy Shuffle. It was very interesting, both in plot and in style, and never failed to grab my attention and emotion. I think that this book, more than any of the other ones that we read, made me think hard about my own life, and how things are right now. The issues brought up in White Boy Shuffle felt like they were much more relevant than those in previous books, particularly the minstrel dynamics which were revealed. Reading WBS has made me think a lot more about how I act and how I see others act than most books I have read. I think that there is still a lot more I can and should think about that this book has brought to light, and the issues and questions it asks can be pondered probably indefinitely. White Boy Shuffle made me think about white culture, if it exists, and how it relates to and interacts with black culture. It made me think about individuals, and how they are more complex than anyone other than themselves (and often not even themselves) realize. Both of those things are questions that do not really have answers. They are just things that you have to be aware of and think about all the time, but after reading White Boy Shuffle I am much more aware of them.
One thing that possible can be answered is the question of how it feels to be a star. Both Nick and Gunnar are idolized at points in the book, and neither of them really appreciate it. Nick goes so far as to purposefully do worse at what he is great at, and Gunnar runs away and takes of his clothes. Gunnar is also idolized to an extent for his basketball prowess, but it does not seem to effect him as much as Nick, probably because he seems to care more about poetry than about basketball, so it is more of a joke to him. That seems to be Gunnar's way of dealing with being idolized. He finds the humor in it and focuses on that to keep him sane. It is strange to read about people hating their fame, because we so often dream of fame, but it does make sense when you think about it, because they are having their personalities and humanity stripped away from them. No one sees them as people, merely as famous basketball players or famous poets.
The other question which is brought up is that of death and suicide and when/if suicide is a good choice. I do not want to try to answer this in any way on a blog, because I think it is something that has to be examined personally, but I do find the many different opinions on it interesting in the book, and very thought provoking. The idea that killing yourself is the best way to further your goals, and to support a movement or cause is relatively unfamiliar, but I think warrants at least a little thought, even if you totally disagree with it. I fail to understand to reasoning behind these suicides, but I think it is important that I try to. I think that sums up my experience with White Boy Shuffle pretty well: "I don't understand a lot of it but I can tell it is important that I do."
I would be very interested to hear about what other people have made of these questions, or especially any other questions you thought were raised by the book.
I also felt that this book was more relatable, and therefore more thought-provoking, than many of the other books we've read. Growing up with Gunnar and having the novel end when he is only a bit older than us makes it easier for us to really understand how he is feeling and learn from Gunnar's life. One of the things that really stuck out to me as a learning moment was when he left the Harvard scout's house and turned down their offer. There is a certain pressure that is present in our society now to go to a good college and get a good job and have a good life and hey, if they are going to practically beg you to go to their university, you'd better go! Gunnar's choice to remain in Hillside and basically live how he wants, rather than how society tells him he should want to, was very inspiring.
ReplyDeleteGunnar's advocation of suicide actually got me angry. When does shock value go too far? As a celebrity, whether he asked for it or not, he has the power to influence people. And when you tell people to kill themselves, they will. Do what you want with your life, but with others' lives in your hands, you need to have at least a little responsibility. In the end, he decides to not even kill himself. I was happy that he decided to stay for his family, but upset that it took him that long to realize it. And you'd think that, after that, he'd realize the hurt he caused to others who had committed suicide in his name...
ReplyDeleteHis main defense against this is that he didn't ask for it. It's a game to him, unwanted but kind of fun. Gunnar, STOP. These aren't cheers in a crowd anymore, these are human lives. Human lives that love your poetry and look up to you. Don't take advantage of that.
At least, this novel taught me to stop putting celebrities on a pedestal. Goodbye, One Direction Fever! (kidding -- I haven't had that since, like, 2012)
The final couple of chapters of this novel really do push it into a different realm, as many of you observed in class, a much more serious one: it's suddenly about life and death, and not cross-dressing gangbangers with drano balloons (not that that wouldn't be dangerous!). I try to read the novel's apparent advocacy of suicide-with-honor as a metaphor, a kind of literary effort to present an extreme and shocking conclusion, but not something that should be translated into real life. But even that gets tricky: are you appalled or impressed by Buddhist monks who set themselves on fire to protest napalming of civilians or other atrocities? There are traditions of suicide as a political act, a defining statement, in other cultures, and in American culture we do lionize the person who is willing to die for something, as the quote from King included in the novel suggests. So there's a very fine line here. But every time I read it I find the logic Gunnar employs to be shocking, and I can't tell how serious Beatty is about these ideas. As a metaphorical act of protest, an extreme rhetorical gesture, it's effective. But Scoby's suicide seems to be about deep depression and alienation as much as political protest, and the novel is treading into really sketchy territory here.
ReplyDelete