This summer reading resource is the result of a collaboration between members of the English Department and three alumni of the Class of 2018. Members of the English Department sourced and curated the material, and the alumni group provided feedback and suggestions to improve the resource with particular emphasis on creating a document that was thorough and inclusive in its representation of the issues raised in The Nickel Boys. This resource represents the kind of process-oriented writing and openness to feedback and revision that the English Department encourages all of its students to embrace. The English Department is grateful to Abigail Drummond ‘18, Shamari Harrington ‘18 and James Rose ‘18 for their insightful feedback and their commitment to this process. The English Department is also grateful to Alex Ashford, Ellen Devine, Rachel Myers, Megan Shea and Victoria Pierotti, who created and curated this resource on behalf of the department.
The History upon Which the Novel is Based
Historical Fiction and The Reality Historical Background and Current Issues in the Fiction of Nickel Boys Facing Reform Schools
This NPR profile explains the history of abuse, violence and murder that occurred at The Dozier School for Boys, the real-life school upon which the fictional Nickel School is based. The Dozier School shut its doors in 2011.
The linked article is an Op-Ed arguing for the closure of an existing reform school in Pennsylvania. The content of the article provides helpful history and context for the founding of reform schools and also how that troubled legacy persists today.
Jim Crow Laws in the 1960’s
This link will take you to one page of Ferris State University’s Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia, which is a museum devoted to anti-racist work and education. As explained on the website, the museum is “us[es] objects of intolerance to teach tolerance and promote social justice.” The website is a tremendous resource that illustrates and explains the racist legacy of America’s past and present through images and objects. Please feel free to explore the rest of the website to learn more about a variety of topics.
PLEASE NOTE: Many of the images and objects, by their very nature, are difficult and upsetting to view. Students should use their discretion as they explore the site.
Black American Cultural Context for The Nickel Boys
Black is Beautiful Jet Magazine
From The National Museum of African American History and Culture Founded in 1951, JET is an American weekly magazine that features African American Black Focused Media Featured in The Nickel Boys political and entertainment news. In this issue from 1961, articles include discussions of police brutality, segregation in schools and housing descrimination as well as profiles of prominent Black figures in In the novel, each of these American entertainment and politics. publications were sold at Mr. Marconi’s store thanks to James Baldwin Elwood’s urging and were primary publications that represented the political and personal interests of Black Americans.
The works of James Baldwin inspire and inform Elwood’s intellectual life in the novel. The first clip is a portion of Baldwin’s response during a famous debate vs. William F. Buckley at Cambridge University in 1965. The second clip is from a debate style interview on the Dick Cavett show in 1968
Colson Whitehead in His Own Words
An Interview with Trevor Noah on T he Daily Show
An interview published in The Guardian
A profile of the novel with P BS News Hour
Understanding Racism in the United States
This is a comprehensive explanation of what racism is, the different forms it takes and how it operates within society
Two explanatory videos of how structural racism has dictated and shaped American society, wealth and education in the 20th and 21st centuries.
T a-Nehisi Coates, a prominent writer and scholar, provides an explanation of the contextual use of the N-word and why non-Black people don’t have the “right” to say it, regardless of where it occurs in music, art, popular culture or literature.
Contemporary Narratives and Images of Blackness as Beauty, Power and Celebration Through the voices and narratives of fictional characters, The Nickel Boys offers the opportunity to better understand the history of oppression, racism and abuse against Black Americans. As important as such narratives are, it is also important to amplify the diverse and expansive experiences of being Black in the United States. Below are works by writers, visual artists and musicians the present Black success, beauty, power, creativity, family and love.
Black History Untold is an oral history collection of the stories and experiences. A theme defines the story collection for each year. The above link is the collection for 2020 with the theme of Revolution. The link below is a story from celebrity chef Roble Ali from the 2018 collection , which had the theme of stories from Brooklyn.
Morgan Parker is a prominent contemporary poet. She has written several critically acclaimed collections of poetry. This is a brief profile and interview with Ms.Parker that also features her reading her poetry.
This link will take you to an NPR profile of photographer Mikael Kehinde Wiley, an American visual artist who is most widely known for Owunna and his project “Infinite Essence,” which attempts to counter his presidential portrait of President Barack Obama, created the the images of brutality and violence against black bodies with images sculpture R umors of War as a monument to “speak back” to confederate that invoke “the cosmos and [the] eternal” monuments in Richmond Virginia. The sculpture was installed at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in December 2019. If you’re interested in Wiley’s work, one of his paintings is displayed at The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, CT.
A collection of self-portraits from Black photographers reflecting on America, curated and published by The New York Times.
This link will take you to a TED Talk by artist, Titus Kaphar, “Can Art Amend History.” If you’re interested in Kaphar’s work, one of his paintings is displayed at the Yale British Art Museum in New Haven.
Leilah Babiyre is a Ugandan artist who now lives in the United States. As a queer artist, Leilah creates pieces that explore the diversity of the LGBT experience in the context of Uganda and Africa in general.
In celebration of Juneteenth, Beyonce released “Black Parade” on June Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse follows Miles Morales as he discovers his 19, 2020. For an analysis of the significance and importance of this own super powers and accepts the mantle of serving his city as new work by Beyonce, check out this article. Spider-Man.
Black Panther w as released in 2018 and earned tremendous critical and popular acclaim as well as box office success. Produced by and starring a predominantly Black crew and cast, Black Panther centers the Black experience in a powerful and positive afrofuturist superhero narrative set in the fictional country of Wakanda. Read this a rticle if you’re interested in learning more about the film’s profound cultural and personal significance for Black Americans.
Section & Questions for Self-Study, Reflection and Connection Chapter
Prologue In the prologue, the narrator observes “even the most innocent scene--a mess hall or the football field--came out sinister, no photographic trickery necessary.” Are there moments in your experience when you have learned this history of a place or object and it has altered your perspective on that place or object? (adapted from The Nickel Boys Reader’s Guide by Penguin Random House Publishers)
The narrator also states “Even in death the boys were trouble.” How does this observation create structure and context for the entire novel? (you may wish to return to this question after you’ve completed the novel)
The Role of Education Elwood experiences many different forms of education in the novel. He encounters both the ways in which education can enlighten and inspire as well as the ways in which education can exert control, violence and oppression over people. ● Consider the role that Mr. Hill played in Elwood’s life and education. What were the most meaningful lessons or opportunities that Mr. Hill provided to Elwood? What form did those lessons and opportunities take? (i.e. lectures, exposure to new resources, access to special opportunities, etc.) ● Education is often associated with advancement, improvement and achievement. What are the negative implications of education for Elwood given the known consequences for “act[ing] above your station” (85). ● Read the article that calls for the closure of a reform school in Pennsylvania. Consider the historical context provided regarding the philosophy and purpose of establishing reform schools in the United States and then consider the systems, rules and beliefs that run The Nickel School. Are there elements of The Nickel School that seem grounded in this history as well? What aspects of that history make the systems and practices derived from it susceptible to being abusive and oppressive? ● Consider moments from your own life when you experienced the transformational power of education. Where did those moments take place? When did they take place? What topics did they involve? Did anyone facilitate or create the moments for you? Did an institution of any sort play a role in those moments? How so?
The Role of Media The novel explores the powerful role media plays in shaping its viewers (TV and radio shows, movies, advertising, etc). What people see and are exposed to has a subliminal, if not more obvious, effect on the consumer. ● Consider the media that Elwood consumes in his young life as
well as the media his grandmother discourages him from consuming-- How does the media he encounters shape his sense of self? ● How does Jack Turner’s whistling of the theme song from T he Andy Griffith Show provide insight about the media images available for him to consume? Does his situation feel different than Elwood’s in any significant ways? ● The Ferris State University’s Museum of Jim Crow Memorabilia (linked earlier in this document), has a significant collection of mainstream advertisements over the decades that feature stereotypical, narrow and offensive depictions of Black people. Given what you know about the power of media and advertising to influence thinking, what are the long term effects of such images on individuals, communities and the nation as a whole? In what ways have these depictions remained in society today?
The World Outside ● Throughout the novel, different boys plan to or attempt to Nickel escape the school, but the world outside of the school remains a threatening and dangerous place for many of The Nickel Boys. What distinctions are made between life inside the school and outside the school? In what ways does life inside the school reflect the structures and systems that dictate life outside of school? ● Turner says to Elwood , “I know there’s nothing in here that changes people. In here and out there are the same, but in here no one has to act fake anymore” (81). What behavior outside of school is Turner talking about when he describes people as acting fake? ● “The law was one thing—you can march and wave signs around and change a law if you convince enough white people…You can change the law but you can’t change people and how they treat each other. Nickel was racist as hell—” (105). Consider this observation in the context of the resources about structural racism earlier in the document. How does this observation playout in contemporary American society in concrete, observable ways?
The End of the Novel The final five chapters move through time period and perspective in such a dynamic and rapid fashion, it may feel challenging to keep track of everything that is happening as the novel draws to a close. These questions are intended to help guide your thinking a bit as you near the end of this story. ● For chapters 11, 13 and 15, can you determine the timeline and setting of these three chapters? ● How does Nickel intertwine itself insidiously with the
protagonist’s current life? ● For chapters 12, 14 and 16, when and where are these three chapters set? What are the thematic and plot concerns of these chapters? What is the purpose of them? ● W hat is revealed in the epilogue? How do you feel about the revelation? Did you anticipate this ending as you read? If so, what portions of the novel cued you to the ending? ● Does it provide resolution to the narrative as a whole?