Austin Ahn Mrs. Cruz Lit and Comp H, Block 2 February 1 2024 From Bad Sounds to Good Vibes: How do Characters respond to Hierarchy in the Nickel Boys?
Hearing the unpleasant oscillations of nails on a chalkboard, or the fast stripping of velcro on my old sneakers as a little boy, little me never accepted those types of sounds; to me it was unbearable. Conversely, hearing the sounds of whistling plane engines from afar, and waking up on a Saturday eating ice cream every once in a while was a commodity to accept. Comparatively, as to Elwood and Turner reacting to the social and political hierarchy at the time in Colson Whitehead’s novel, “The Nickel Boys,” biased wrongful convictions, and hierarchy, can be shown through Elwood’s treatment of …show more content…
Elwood doesn’t give into these hateful words, and gets mad since nobody did this before his class received the textbook. The unacceptance of this social hierarchy shows that the tradition of bias between white and black can give Elwood a reality check, knowing that there was a tension against the white race. The dangerous journey Elwood faces while marking these out showed Elwood that being a boy of color in this time period meant that he was inferior to those who were white. This can show readers that Elwood's journey throughout the text will have unjust and unfair moments, times when he is obviously rejecting the moment. Not only does Elwood reject political hierarchy, he also rejects the social hierarchy. The social hierarchy during Elwood’s time serving at Nickel Academy was something cruel, which Elwood rejected, when being brutally beaten by the racist guards, and being stuck in a loophole in the Nickel Academy to profit for them. After Elwood got sent to the Nickel …show more content…
When running away from Harper, Elwood got shot. Years after Elwood’s death, Turner flies to Tallahassee and arrives at a diner. The owner of the diner asked his name, and Turner stated, “Elwood Curtis.” The first thing that popped into his head. It felt right. He uses the name from then on when asked, to honor his friend. To live for him.”(Whitehead 200) Elwood and Turner’s relationship since they’ve met was always an accepting response whenever times were tough. Turner accepts this social hierarchy as living through Elwood because he sees that bond, the unity of being one that brings people together, inspiring them to think out of the box and optimistically to seek justice. Without Elwood, Turner wouldn’t be where he would be, and now he’s the only black man speaking up about Nickel Academy, seeking justice and hope, and accepting where he is now, despite the regret of the letter Elwood had told him to give to the worker. But this all led to where it is now, and glad that Elwood did not belong in the secret graveyard, and finally taking a stand and putting an end to Nickel. Turner accepts the social hierarchy at the time, shown by his current lifestyle. When deciding to name his moving company, “He decided to call his company Ace Moving. AAA was taken and he wanted to be at the top of the phone book.” (Whitehead 115) Ace is defined to be at the best at something, like an A on
Hearing the unpleasant oscillations of nails on a chalkboard, or the fast stripping of velcro on my old sneakers as a little boy, little me never accepted those types of sounds; to me it was unbearable. Conversely, hearing the sounds of whistling plane engines from afar, and waking up on a Saturday eating ice cream every once in a while was a commodity to accept. Comparatively, as to Elwood and Turner reacting to the social and political hierarchy at the time in Colson Whitehead’s novel, “The Nickel Boys,” biased wrongful convictions, and hierarchy, can be shown through Elwood’s treatment of …show more content…
Elwood doesn’t give into these hateful words, and gets mad since nobody did this before his class received the textbook. The unacceptance of this social hierarchy shows that the tradition of bias between white and black can give Elwood a reality check, knowing that there was a tension against the white race. The dangerous journey Elwood faces while marking these out showed Elwood that being a boy of color in this time period meant that he was inferior to those who were white. This can show readers that Elwood's journey throughout the text will have unjust and unfair moments, times when he is obviously rejecting the moment. Not only does Elwood reject political hierarchy, he also rejects the social hierarchy. The social hierarchy during Elwood’s time serving at Nickel Academy was something cruel, which Elwood rejected, when being brutally beaten by the racist guards, and being stuck in a loophole in the Nickel Academy to profit for them. After Elwood got sent to the Nickel …show more content…
When running away from Harper, Elwood got shot. Years after Elwood’s death, Turner flies to Tallahassee and arrives at a diner. The owner of the diner asked his name, and Turner stated, “Elwood Curtis.” The first thing that popped into his head. It felt right. He uses the name from then on when asked, to honor his friend. To live for him.”(Whitehead 200) Elwood and Turner’s relationship since they’ve met was always an accepting response whenever times were tough. Turner accepts this social hierarchy as living through Elwood because he sees that bond, the unity of being one that brings people together, inspiring them to think out of the box and optimistically to seek justice. Without Elwood, Turner wouldn’t be where he would be, and now he’s the only black man speaking up about Nickel Academy, seeking justice and hope, and accepting where he is now, despite the regret of the letter Elwood had told him to give to the worker. But this all led to where it is now, and glad that Elwood did not belong in the secret graveyard, and finally taking a stand and putting an end to Nickel. Turner accepts the social hierarchy at the time, shown by his current lifestyle. When deciding to name his moving company, “He decided to call his company Ace Moving. AAA was taken and he wanted to be at the top of the phone book.” (Whitehead 115) Ace is defined to be at the best at something, like an A on