Minstrelsy in Ellison, Hurston, and Beatty

All of the books this semester have had some degree of similarity, and we used those similarities to compare characters plots and themes. One very unique theme present in each of the novels is minstrelsy. While often not specifically stated or explained the ideas and notions come up very often. However, each author has a different take on the implications and use of minstrelsy.

Hurston’s outlook on Minstrelsy seems to be the most positive. When Janie is living in Eatonville there are many scenes where we see the use of minstrel entertainment. The gossip and comedy that occurs on the porches is a prime example of black “performers” entertaining the white readers. Hurston later also idealizes the muck and shows how the farmers live in the moment and are always happy and having fun. Despite working under a white landlord, Hurston chooses to focus on the pastoral aspects of glades. Hurston is criticized by Richard Wright for this exact idea. Wright says that black writers should be continuously advocating for more rights and protesting the system. He criticizes Hurston for employing such an idealized view of sharecropping without any mention of suffering or hardship. Wright makes his stance on minstrelsy very clear, that every African American novel should be protesting the ideas that minstrelsy creates, not promote them like Hurston does.

Ellison’s narrator encounters a blackface cast iron figurine, and he freaks out. The narrator is appalled that Mary would keep such an offensive object in her house. The figure depicts a performer with a large grin. While the minstrel performer is supposed to be happy, it seems like the grin could also be seen as choking. After freakishly beating the figurine into smithereens, he packs it up in his briefcase and attempts to get rid of it. Every time he attempted to get rid of the briefcase someone ends up returning it to him. He is trying to get rid of the racial stereotypes put upon him, but it just keeps coming back to him no matter how hard he tries.

A similar dynamic can be seen with Gunnar in White Boy Shuffle. Despite his seemingly successful life, Gunnar is very apathetic in his basketball career. He always feels like the oddball out. Even though the white kids in his school treat him well, he is still treated in a special way. Even though he is put on a pedestal and everyone idolizes him, he feels isolated. This is very similar to the narrator’s experiences; No matter how successful he is Gunnar can’t get away from feeling isolated and treated differently because of his race. Beatty even illustrates this point by creating a satirical reverse minstrelsy dynamic. Gunnar dresses himself in “whiteface” before his game against Phillis Wheatley. Gunnar describes his endeavor “While the whites pep-rallied over banana pancakes, I planned my first rebellious act.”(Beatty 163) This original minstrel dynamic displayed white actors portraying black people because black people were deemed to be inferior actors. Gunnar being the best player on the team dresses as a white player implying that he is stooping down to an inferior level of play.  This seems to be Gunnar’s attempt to defy the white power structure and try to “fit in”. Of course this entire seen is made into a satire, just showing the absurdity of the situation, and how it is impossible for Gunnar to get away from the racialized stereotypes enforced on him.  

Gravitating Towards Gunnar

Books are very unpredictable, sometimes they are just awful, other times a book just clicks, and you can’t put it down. For me, The White Boy Shuffle clicked in an instant. I’m not trying to be cliché, but Beatty’s use of humor and Gunnar’s sarcastic joking character really made the book come alive. For me most fictional books and characters seemed so distant. Good authors, like Wright for example, are able to create situations where I can feel emotion or create situations that I can relate to, but Beatty does this and more. Beatty goes the basic empathetic style, and creates a character that we really want to be around, someone that we want to get to know better.

People in this class describe him as the “funny, cool black guy” (28). Characters in the novel gravitate towards Gunnar and I seemed to be drawn to him as well. Within the first few pages, I already knew I loved Gunnar. Gunnar’s book “Watermelanin” had me laughing from the first page. While the title in and of itself is funny, it has also “sold 126 million copies”. Beatty surrounds Gunnar with an incredible aura of satire that makes every scene seem like an occurrence that we see every day. We know that a book of poetry would never actually sell 126 million copies, but because the way he presents it is so nonchalant and direct we end up wanting to believe him.

I also feel Gunnar’s character is very tailored to our generation and age range. Gunnar uses “swear words” to the point that they seem normal. In high school I feel this same way, I hear the language so often that it feels normal to hear it every day. Gunnar even uses the language in a way that I hear all the time. His purpose for using foul language isn’t exclusively to insult or belittle others. Most of the time it is for comedic value. Like when he writes his letter to David Schoenfeld he ends the letter with “Shalom, motherf***er” (40). This is exactly the type of language I see every day in high school.

Also the fact that Gunnar uses such language at such a young age makes it seem even more satirical. Gunnar seems to be so mature, and instead of using his maturity as a way to put himself above everyone, he uses it to make everyone like him. Gunnar, despite his very nonchalant carefree attitude, is very intelligent which furthers my respect and attachment to him. In the third grade Ms. Cegeny asked Gunnar “what was the last thing Melissa read” (29), and even though Gunnar was daydreaming and talking to Cecilia he was able to summarize the passage Melissa read. All of Gunnar’s qualities make him a very entertaining character that keeps me turning. While I am curious to see where the plot takes us, I am more interested in the humor and witty comments that Gunnar is sure to keep bringing to the table.