This semester we've read five really good books. I liked all of them, but some stood out more to
me than others. Each book we've read I liked more than the last. This has definitely been my favorite
english class I've taken so far. That being said, my favorite book from this semester was "White Boy
Shuffle". My least favorite book was "Invisible Man".
"White Boy Shuffle" was my favorite book because of the fast-moving plot and at sometimes
absurd situations. This book was easy to keep up with because I actually wanted to read it, I didn't
just read it because it was assigned. At times this book was funny, like when Psycho Loco is just able
to order a person through the mail with no second thought. This book was also set in the most recent
time so it was easiest to understand how society was at that time. With the relation between
basketball stars simply being treated as animals in the book, and how it actually is in real life, it was
easier to understand how Nick and Gunnar felt because we see this in our current society as well.
My least favorite book this semester was "Invisible Man" because it was pretty slow-moving for
most of the book, in my opinion. It was harder for me to keep up with the nightly reading
assignments because it was a slow, and slightly weird, book. The whole book was pretty depressing
as the Narrator continually finds out that so many people are lying to him, like the Brotherhood or the
college dean. It definitely wasn't a horrible book but out of the five we read it is my least favorite. I
don't really like the ending either because it doesn't really give any closure to the book.
Overall, every book we read in this course was really good. Beloved was really close to being my
first favorite, but it was too disturbing at times. I liked how Native Son was quick moving during the
first two parts, but it slowed down quickly during part three. I really enjoyed Their Eyes Were
Watching God because it was the simplest story, but the ending was really sad. African-American
Literature was a great english class!
I also really liked all the books we read! White Boy Shuffle is also my favorite. I really enjoyed Gunner as a narrator, and I think he has some similarities to the narrator from Invisible Man. One of those being starting the book with its end. Also, at times both of their stories seem absurd. I actually liked Invisible Man's ending more than White Boy Shuffles mostly because I think just waiting around for a bomb to drop on you is really depressing. I guess I'd rather drop out of society than be blown up.
ReplyDeleteThat’s true, I would also rather drop out than be blown up. But, I still feel like both endings didn’t give a great conclusion. With Invisible Man, it felt like the Narrator was just giving up on himself, and I would have preferred to see him do something maybe more productive. In White Boy Shuffle, I think the conclusion was better, but still not great. I would have loved to see how Gunnar and his family grew as they got older.
DeleteThis was also my favorite book that I read in this class. Even during the sadder and darker parts of this book, Gunnar's funny, sarcastic tone stays the same, which kept it fun to read. I liked how basketball was such a key part of the story, and how some of Beatty's comments on society were made through basketball, like how dehumanizing sports is for the athletes.
ReplyDeleteThe White Boy Shuffle was my favorite book too! I loved the absurd names and how Beatty crafted what should have been super uncomfortable situations with a sarcastic, witty voice. Most of the time, I wasn't sure if I was allowed to laugh. However, I didn't really like the ending; I like when book endings are arbitrary, but TWBS took it way too far in my opinion. The structure reminds me of those movies where it's lighthearted and then escalates super quickly (which I hate). I guess I prefer happy/conclusive endings but I still loved this book due to Beatty's writing. Good post!
ReplyDeleteThere were definitely times where I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to laugh or not too. I agree that the ending wasn’t the best, I didn’t feel like it really made any conclusions on what had happened in the book. Maybe this is Beatty’s way of saying that this problem is very prevalent in society and there isn’t one simple answer to correct things.
DeleteI would actually argue that Invisible Man's ending provides more closure than White Boy Shuffle's ending does. At the end of Invisible Man, the narrator is preparing to reenter society and make a difference. At the end of White Boy Shuffle, Gunnar is waiting for the government to drop an atomic bomb on his community. However, we don't know when the bomb will drop, what will happen after the bomb is dropped, and if the government will even follow through with dropping it. For me, there were so many more questions with White Boy Shuffle than with Invisible Man.
ReplyDeleteThat is true, I didn’t really think about it in that way. I also think that Gunnar’s action of waiting for the bomb to drop can be seen as making a difference, the same way the narrator is preparing to make a difference. I think that Gunnar is just making a statement in a different way.
DeleteI think a lot of the class will agree with you in saying The White Boy Shuffle was their favorite book of this semester. I think what makes this novel so great is because not only is it set in more recent times, making it easier to read and understand, but it has a really good balance of an important message, interesting characters, an exciting plot, and abundant humor. The characteristic that stuck out to me the most of this novel was the humor - it's not every day you read an assigned reading that makes you laugh. Adding the humor makes the book so much more enjoyable while also keeping you focused enough to understand the more important and deeper messages behind the laughs and giggles. I also agree with you that Invisible Man was one of my least favorites of the books we read this semester. While it was still a good book, I found it to be kind of dense sometimes and to be honest, even after reading it and writing an essay about it, I find myself to still be confused about some parts which sometimes is a good thing but didn't really add to my enjoyment on the book.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that Invisible Man was hard to understand sometimes. Some of the concepts in that book seemed like something that would never happen in real life, though that can be said about many books. White Boy Shuffle was more straight forward with the plot which makes it an easier read. The humor was one of my favorite parts about this book.
DeleteThe White Boy Shuffle and Beloved were my favorites, definitely. Invisible Man was a great book, but definitely one that had just SO many layers to it. It was near impossible to follow along with, and maybe I'll read it again sometime in a few years and understand more. I really love how the White Boy Shuffle makes us laugh but also makes us think super deeply and sticks with us. At least it's stuck with me a lot. Sometimes I'm looking at something like an ad or my brother watching basketball and I'm like, "hm, what would Gunnar think of this?" The White Boy Shuffle also pulls no punches, which is refreshing in a way.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Invisible Man had way too many layers. Although, Beloved was a VERY confusing book at some times but by the end I felt like I completely understood it. Invisible Man never seemed to connect with me in this way. Also, the plot of Beloved seemed a lot more realistic to me (though it was at times crazy) than Invisible Man. I cannot think of any realistic way that someone could drop out of society and live underground for a year. But, I can understand why Sethe had to kill one of her own children.
DeleteYeah, agreed. I liked all of the books that we read in this class but my favorite by far was, The White Boy Shuffle. The book was very funny at times, like when Gunnar gets "punked" or when he goes out on the court dressed in white gloves and white powder. The jokes were also relatively new and I was able to create some of my own connections to the book. I liked it so much because it was a more contemporary novel and the plot was very interesting. Beatty was able to have a great balance between a serious message and a comedic story and I believe that is why I enjoyed it so much.
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