The Nickel Boys
Colston Whitehead's The Nickel Boys bridges the gap between the era of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and the contemporary form of controlling black people present today, including mass incarceration.
In the novel, Elwood is forced to attend Nickel Academy after he gets pulled over in a car that was stolen. His only crime was being in the car at the wrong time because Elwood did not actually do anything wrong. Elwood is labeled a criminal before he has even done anything to warrant him being called a criminal.
During the time of Jim Crow laws, specific laws were put in place to prevent African Americans from escalating in society. In the novel, Elwood is forced to attend Nickel academy, a government-funded institution that is mandatory for the boys to attend even though they endure endless abuse. The education system in the novel is the power structure that allows for and perpetuates the abuse of African Americans. The evolving means of controlling black people are expressed through the mandatory school the boys attend where they are taught with textbooks "Elwood remembered from first grade" (73) in order to prevent the boys from being able to advance farther in life. Beyond being mentally stunted at Nickel Academy, the boys endure physical abuse with "no system to all the violence" (82). The novel echoes the past with glimpses into systems that were put in place during slavery but also mirrors the present with the mass amount of boys being abused at the academy.
In the novel, Elwood is forced to attend Nickel Academy after he gets pulled over in a car that was stolen. His only crime was being in the car at the wrong time because Elwood did not actually do anything wrong. Elwood is labeled a criminal before he has even done anything to warrant him being called a criminal.
During the time of Jim Crow laws, specific laws were put in place to prevent African Americans from escalating in society. In the novel, Elwood is forced to attend Nickel academy, a government-funded institution that is mandatory for the boys to attend even though they endure endless abuse. The education system in the novel is the power structure that allows for and perpetuates the abuse of African Americans. The evolving means of controlling black people are expressed through the mandatory school the boys attend where they are taught with textbooks "Elwood remembered from first grade" (73) in order to prevent the boys from being able to advance farther in life. Beyond being mentally stunted at Nickel Academy, the boys endure physical abuse with "no system to all the violence" (82). The novel echoes the past with glimpses into systems that were put in place during slavery but also mirrors the present with the mass amount of boys being abused at the academy.
Martin Luther King Jr. is a predominant figure in Whitehead's novel because he bridges the gap between reality and fiction that is present throughout the novel. King's speeches play on a loop in Elwood's head and they are a large part of the narrative because they remind the reader of the book's core and the message Whitehead is trying to convey.
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