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Humor

White Boy Shuffle is probably my favorite of the books that we've read this year so far (not that I didn't like the others but this is the book that we've read so far where I've been tempted to read ahead. Maybe that's also because the readings are slightly shorter). I think one of the reasons that this book is so striking to all of us is how different it feels compared to the other books that we have read so far this year. It talks about similar topics as the others but (so far) it's not a sad book, at least not on the surface. The beginning of White Boy Shuffle is really, really funny in a way that even the other books we've read this year that contain satire never achieved. But this humor doesn't seem to have come at any kind of price with the messages the book sends. Beatty still somehow manages to work stereotypes and other racial issues into the novel and he does it so seamlessly that it would be easy to miss some of them.

The way the humor is used in White Boy Shuffle has reminded a lot of people of Invisible Man which not only had some of its own satirical humor but also had a reoccurring theme of undermining the white people in power with laughter. While I can say I definitely understand this connection, especially within the context of what White Boy Shuffle is about and especially within the context of our class, it was not the first connection that I made. The first thing I thought of was something that Trevor Noah once said, and I'm paraphrasing, but he said something like he uses humor as a defense.(It also reminded me a lot of political talk-show humor but using humor to discuss and make fun of political and social issues didn't seem that unique to me). I thought of this immediately because (especially when Gunnar was talking about his ancestry) it seems to be a way for him to get things off his chest, but also think about them in a less negative way (and also laughing probably makes him feel better). But it might not just serve as a defense mechanism for Gunnar and it might also be a way to make the book more relatable, and even help other people deal with the problems (I mainly mean racial issues, but there are definitely other issues that would apply) that they are having. If anything, the humor in White Boy Shuffle makes it more far-reaching of a novel, even though it's not as heart wrenching as something like Native Son or Beloved.

Comments

  1. Leslie Anukwu4 December 2018 at 18:47

    This is one of my favorite books as well and now that you mention it, not having to read like a quarter of the book each night does make it more enjoyable and digestible. I like how you talk about how humor doesn't impact the message that the book has. I feel like its good to have a mix of message and spirit in writing. If something is long and boring, but has a lot of good points, I personally will likely fall asleep reading it. Kind of like a teacher droning on and on in class, what they're saying is "useful" and factual, but its boring. However, if the teacher is funny or interesting, I won't fall asleep in their class.

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  2. Olivia9 December 2018 at 10:22

    This book definitely reminds me a lot of Invisible Man, too, because of its satirical humor, like you said, but also because of its voice's pretentiousness, I guess is the word. Like, both Gunnar and the narrator are obviously very well-educated people, and they definitely flaunt it in their writing, which I find very amusing to read.

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  3. Harmen Alleyne18 December 2018 at 08:06

    This book is like Invisible Man (as Olivia said) for the dreamlike qualities, but also the humor. I would say that White Boy Shuffle is a book more sympathetic to us in a more modern era since Invisible Man is in a time period farther removed from our own time, so White Boy Shuffle has humor more relevant to today's.

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  4. Samir19 December 2018 at 08:18

    This book is definitely a lot like Invisible Man. The dreamlike qualities and humor are both very important to the story. White Boy shuffle is slightly different in that it takes place in a more modern context, and the narrator is more self aware, which gives the book a slightly different edge.

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