Median
In Paul Beatty's The White Boy Shuffle, Gunnar Kaufman begins his story by telling of his early life as a black boy in a white community. Among his white friends, he's known as the "cool black guy" with a sense of humor. Gunnar himself doesn't mind this, and even embraces it, saying "white kids will believe anything anybody a shade darker than chocolate milk says" and using their gullibility to his advantage.
At the same time, he is aware that he's not "as black" as pure black communities, refusing to attend an all-black summer camp because they are "different." When his family moves to Los Angeles, a mostly black community, he is quickly targeted by the local gang due to his lack of street knowledge. Overall, Gunnar is "blacker" than the average white, but "whiter" than the average black.
Many of us have also probably gone through a similar experience. In our respective middle schools, we were among the "smart kids," passing through courses without much difficulty. Other students looked up to (or at least respected) us, just like how Gunnar's friends identify him as the "cool black guy". Once we entered Uni, though, we were closer to average, among other former "smart kids" who had also been accepted into the school.
At the same time, he is aware that he's not "as black" as pure black communities, refusing to attend an all-black summer camp because they are "different." When his family moves to Los Angeles, a mostly black community, he is quickly targeted by the local gang due to his lack of street knowledge. Overall, Gunnar is "blacker" than the average white, but "whiter" than the average black.
Many of us have also probably gone through a similar experience. In our respective middle schools, we were among the "smart kids," passing through courses without much difficulty. Other students looked up to (or at least respected) us, just like how Gunnar's friends identify him as the "cool black guy". Once we entered Uni, though, we were closer to average, among other former "smart kids" who had also been accepted into the school.
This is definitely how Gunner feels at the beginning of the novel. However, I think that the particular turning point was the L.A. Riots. He wants to write "black-owned" over his heart. He also wanted to tell his mom that her "was so black, its a shame." I think that Gunner views himself as shifted from the median to the black side of his culture.
ReplyDeleteI will say that Gunnar was in LA his entire life, he just went from a white neighborhood to a black neighborhood, which seemed like a huge change but they were still in the same city. Aside from that discrepancy, your point seems valid. Gunnar seems like the middle, not white because of his skin, but not black because of his upbringing.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I think that this is especially true right as he crosses over the cultural line each time. However, as time goes on this becomes less true as Nina points out.
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