As the Civil Rights movement begins to reach the black enclave of Frenchtown in segregated Tallahassee, Elwood Curtis takes the words of Dr. Martin Luther King to heart: He is as good as anyone. Abandoned by his parents, but kept on the straight and narrow by his grandmother, Elwood is about to enroll in the local black college. But for a black boy in the Jim Crow South of the early 1960s, one innocent mistake is enough to destroy the future. Elwood is sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, whose ...
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As the Civil Rights movement begins to reach the black enclave of Frenchtown in segregated Tallahassee, Elwood Curtis takes the words of Dr. Martin Luther King to heart: He is as good as anyone. Abandoned by his parents, but kept on the straight and narrow by his grandmother, Elwood is about to enroll in the local black college. But for a black boy in the Jim Crow South of the early 1960s, one innocent mistake is enough to destroy the future. Elwood is sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, whose mission statement says it provides physical, intellectual and moral training so the delinquent boys in their charge can become honorable and honest men. In reality, the Nickel Academy is a grotesque chamber of horrors where the sadistic staff beats and sexually abuses the students, corrupt officials and locals steal food and supplies, and any boy who resists is likely to disappear out back. Stunned to find himself in such a vicious environment, Elwood tries to hold onto Dr. King's ringing assertion Throw us in jail and we will still love you. His friend Turner thinks Elwood is worse than naive, that the world is crooked, and that the only way to survive is to scheme and avoid trouble. The tension between Elwood's ideals and Turner's skepticism leads to a decision whose repercussions will echo down the decades. Formed in the crucible of the evils Jim Crow wrought, the boys' fates will be determined by what they endured at the Nickel Academy. Based on the real story of a reform school in Florida that operated for one hundred and eleven years and warped the lives of thousands of children, The Nickel Boys is a devastating, driven narrative that showcases a great American novelist writing at the height of his powers.
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In 2019, I was highly disappointed by Colson Whitehead's novel, "John Henry Days" (2002). I felt the novel was overly ambitious, confusingly written, and constituted a sort of Great American Novel written in reverse with its breadth and unremittingly negative, satirical portrayal of the United States and its history. Still, with the acclaim Whitehead has enjoyed, I thought I needed to try again. I read and was greatly moved by "The Nickel Boys", for which Whitehead received his second Pulitzer Prize in 2020.
Whitehead's novel is set largely in the Florida of the early 1960s and in New York City beginning in the late 1960s. The main character, Elwood Curtis, is being raised by his grandmother in the segregated Frenchtown section of Tallahassee after being abandoned by his parents. Elwood is an ambitious student and hard worker who has a job with a white person who owns a cigar and candy store. Elwood is taken with the words and thoughts of Martin Luther King, Jr. When he has the opportunity to attend classes at a local college during high school, he hitches a ride in what proves to be a stolen car and is unjustly sent to a reform school not far from Tallahassee known as the Nickel Academy. The book becomes a story of the hellacious treatment doled out to the young boys at Nickel. Black student and white students live in segregated camps. Neither group is well treated, but the black students fare a great deal worse.
Whitehead shows a pattern of abuse that persisted for over 100 years including beatings, solitary confinement, sexual abuse, incompetence, and widespread theft and administrative corruption. Many of the boys die. Elmore makes friends with another black inmate, Turner who with his street wise cynicism is a foil to Elmore and the idealism he derives from Martin Luther King. The friendship between the two takes a surprising turn when the Nickel Academy is investigated at last by the State of Florida and the extent of its abuses becomes known, due in part to actions of Elmore and Turner.
The story develops slowly and convincingly. The early sections offer a portrayal of Frenchtown life before pivoting to the shocking story of the Nickel Academy. In the portions of the book at Nickel, Whitehead writes sparely, with frequent use of indirection and understatement. The writing is both clear and elusive. It needs to be read carefully. A cumulative sense of Nickel and its barbarity develops slowly to increase the reader's feel for the place. The writing also shows an effective and particular sense of place in some of the latter scenes which are set in New York City as it faces bankruptcy, extended crime, and social unrest.
Although "The Nickel Boys" is a work of fiction, it is based on an actual school, the Dozier School for Boys which was investigated and closed by the State of Florida for abuses similar to those Whitehead described in his novel. Details about the school are accessible online. They enhance but are not necessary to appreciate Whitehead's novel.
The broad themes of this book in terms of racial injustice come through the focus on particular places and people. I was particularly moved by the way Whitehead weaved into the book the words and teachings of King, with its idealism, focus on human dignity and on the sort of love known as agape. The discussions of King's thought was entirely apt to the story and enhanced its themes. The book was moving and succeeded through working out from its specifics.
I thought again of the book by Whitehead that I had disliked, "John Henry Days". With its careful, understated writing, clearly developed themes and characters, and focus, I thought that "Nickel Boys" did everything beautifully and successfully that the earlier book had done poorly. I had some gratification in feeling that I didn't need to question my responses to either book.
"The Nickel Boys" is a probing, disturbing and challenging story that provokes thought and emotional response. The book deserves the praise and discussion it continues to receive. I was glad to have the opportunity to read and to discuss the book.
Robin Friedman
G2
Jan 2, 2021
Well Recommended
This was a very good read that kept me engaged seeking the next turn of events. Having some knowledge of the real history of the Dozier school and Tallahassee, it was easy to loos site that Mr. Whitehead's words are proclaimed "fiction". Clearly he did his homework and this should be required reading for kids as it gives invaluable perspective no matter what your personal history is.
