I'm starting to feel that a frame narrative is just a cheap trick to get me hooked on a book. Apart from Native Son, every book we've read this semester has used it, and I can see why it’s such a popular literary device. Anybody reading a book is in it for the story, for the experience of discovering something new and immersing themselves into a different world. It’s often a challenge to stop yourself from peeking ahead in a book, and by giving the reader a taste of what is coming, the author appeases that urge while pulling the reader into their novel. Having a prologue that doesn’t just set up the story but actually sets up the end makes a biographical book become a mystery and an adventure.
The parallel universe that The White Boy Shuffle takes place in a universe that is nearly identical to ours. The cities have the same economic makeup and the country has the same history, but there are slight differences. For example, the neighborhoods Gunnar lives in don’t correlate to any in our world. The most blatant departure from fact is that that no poetry book even came close to Watermelanin’s 126,000,000 sales. Even with the slight differences, Beatty’s main character is quite natural. His experiences so far resonate easily with readers my age, making it a joy to read about his life. The foundation of his life follows the “Uncle Tom” heritage that Gunnar gets from his father. Unlike Janie’s story in Their Eyes Were Watching God, Gunnar is almost out of place in his environment. While Hurston depicted a character who was at one with her environment, and stood by her point of depicting an African-American as a normal human being in spite of criticism, Beatty throws more contrast in the creation of his character.
Growing up in completely white surroundings, none of the African-American heritage that has defined our previous protagonists shines through in Gunnar. With a Scandinavian name and a white upbringing, only his mother’s stories of his ancestry and his skin color keep him from being a hundred percent white. When his mother realizes that her children think they are better than other African-Americans, she instantly relocates her household to a poor ghetto in Los Angeles. In addition to the troubles of going to a new school with new and unfamiliar faces, Gunnar also has to adapt to a different society and new cultural norms. His host of issues is surrounded by hilarity thanks to the humor and sarcasm of Beatty’s writing. For example, Gunnar’s new junior high school in Los Angeles is called Manischewitz Junior High, named after a leading US brand of kosher products. I look forward to seeing more of how Gunnar’s contrast between the start of his upbringing and his new surroundings affect his personality. Will he be able to adapt to the completely different culture he is now a part of, and when do we meet the famous poet that he becomes?
I felt like your post was very good as individual paragraphs, but your message seems kind of muddled, as you opened with a discussion on frame narrative, and you don't even conclude that point during your final paragraph.
ReplyDeleteInteresting idea that you bring up here. I think the frame narrative that is used it an important literary device. I'm not exactly sure how that connects directly to the White Boy Shuffle, but I agree that how Gunner's character will develop is hard to predict.
ReplyDeleteI like the frame narrative. I think it works well for all of the books we have read. I think that in this book, it gets you hooked right away. It also shows you the universe and style of writing we are going to have for the rest of the book. I'm always someone who wants to know what happens at the end, so I kind of like this because I have an idea of where this is all going. I also think that giving the characters the benefit of hindsight also helps the book have more of a message.
ReplyDeleteThe interesting part about white boy shuffles frame narrative is despite it's satirical beginning -- mentioning how his book of poetry, Watermelanin, sold 126 million copies -- Beatty brings the satire full circle. While he doesn't sell 126 million copies, Gunnar does become a wildly famous poet. The prologue also mentions how he was a "messiah", again everyone seems to idolize Gunnar almost to the point of him becoming a "messiah" to lead his people. The ending of the novel reveals that he is trying to give the community an example of protest by committing suicide. While the ending is very dark, Beatty again brings the prologue full circle.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with that! His popularity as a poet, something he himself doesn't even realize until he comes to Boston University and is the poetic idol for many of the students there, is a very effective tool for him to spread whatever message he might have. Just like he hypnotizes the audience with a basketball shot, he controls the masses with his poetry and, later on, the speeches and interviews that he gives. The satire makes it a fun read, making the reader turn pages as he watches the antics of the internal contrast of this socially inept genius. In the end, out of all of us, Beatty gets the last laugh, having enchanted a reader throughout the book only to end on such a depressing note, acting as a wake up call to the world.
DeleteI really like how you thought about the alternate universe idea. It is totally unlikely that someone in Gunnar's situation can be so famous and get college recruiters to come for his basketball, poetic AND academic successes. It definitely feels like a alternate universe in which someone can become famous without trying or even realizing it. It is interesting, therefore, when we have the LA riots because it forces the story to connect back to reality. We are suddenly hit with the realization that this does indeed take place in the same United states that we live in. I think that it gives the riot scene a lot more seriousness because it is the only thing certainly set in our reality.
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