Why the world of The White Boy Shuffle feels real to me

Why the world of The White Boy Shuffle feels real to me

In class we discussed the prospect of prospect of reality in The White Boy Shuffle, and I personally felt like this book is consistently realistic, even though some aspects are certainly outlandish once looked upon closely. Maybe this is because I can’t believe parts of my own life are real when I look back on them, even though I definitely lived through them, but I think there is more that supports this idea.

So I don’t think Beatty created a new type of world in this novel, it feels like he just chose to emphasize different parts of the same world we live in.

One of these reasons is that some parts of the book stand out as feeling extremely real. It’s certainly true that this novel hits on some pretty hard subjects. Some of the subject matter that the characters interact with is very heavy and very real. For example, racism and bigotry in general are pertinent forces throughout the book, but there are also more specific examples like the LA Riots and what it means to be black and good at basketball in high school. I think this book shows that the world we live in is full of both things that are real and heavy, and things that seem totally ridiculous, and often times these two types of things are connected and/or the same.

In contrast and conjunction with the stark realism present in this book, the tone and style of the narrator makes events and ideas seem more exaggerated. Beatty tells this story through Gunnar who has a strong sense of typically sarcastic humor that changes the way the story is told. This can be seen in the very first line of the novel. “Unlike the typical bluesy earthy folksy denim-overalls noble-in-the-face-of-cracker-racism aw shucks Pulitzer-Prize-winning protagonist mojo black man, I am not the seventh son of a seventh son.” However despite this unique voice, there is never a point in the novel at which the reader does not trust the narrator. This means that however bizarre the narrator’s statement is, the reader trusts it. I believe that this shows that the novel is realistic because otherwise the reader wouldn’t be able to digest it so easily.

The Gun Totin’ Hooligans exemplify this dynamic between stark realism and exaggerated quirkiness throughout the book. One example of this phenomenon can be observed through the depiction (and really existence) of the Gun Totin’ Hooligans. Gang violence is a serious and heavy issue, and the seriousness of it is not ignored in this novel. Psycho Loco kills multiple people in the book, and all of the members of the gang struggle with their realities in the book. For example, Psycho Loco at one point in the book can be found crying in front of Gunnar’s shower. This also shows the vulnerability of gang member in this book. While vulnerability isn’t a trait classically associated with those who partake in gang violence, it is an important part of the Gun Totin’ Hooligans. This aspect of the gang is realistic because members of gangs are real people and possess vulnerability just the same as any other real person. Psycho Loco’s gang is also fairly cartoonish in their methods, and much more feminine than your typical gang for several reasons we discussed in class. While these aspects may not be traditional to street gang culture, I don’t think that they are completely unbelievable because Beatty is already showcasing a less represented side of gang life. I think that this representation may come off as strange to anyone who is expecting Gunnar to join the kind of street gang the media promotes, but that shouldn’t make it any less realistic.