from Gunnar Kaufman to Anita Bryant- what's up with these names?
Something that struck me on first starting to read The White Boy Shuffle was the strange assortment of character and place names. From the first chapter, we get introduced to a wide variety of Gunnar's family members, each of which has a stranger name than the last. A common theme through his family is that every relative of his has a stereotypically "white" name, from Euripides Kaufman with a Greek name to Gunnar himself. His family tree has relatives named after composers (Franz, Wolfgang, and Ludwig), but most have various Scandinavian names (like Johann, Swen, Solveig, and Rolf). Even the Kaufman women have so-called white names, like Gunnar's aunts Joni, Meredith, and Amy. This seems like an odd stylistic choice for a novel about a "foster parent to an abandoned people", but the names of Gunnar's relatives show how exceedingly bootlicking they are while also injecting a dash of humor.
But the strange names don't stop here. Particularly in schools, various locations in the novel have names that reference historical figures or events, adding a whole other level of literary allusion. For instance, Rolf Kaufman attends Jefferson Davis High (named after a notoriously racist Confederate general) with the white students in his town, rather than go to Dred Scott High (named after a landmark Supreme Court case denying black people citizenship). Also, both schools exist in a town called Yeehaw, Mississippi, which Beatty invented and which emphasizes the racist, redneck qualities of this setting.
Another high school that earns a passing mention is Madame C.J. Walker High, named after an influential black entrepreneur and philanthropist from the 1800s. We don't get any more detail about the school, just that Gunnar's relative Meredith played football there. The fact that the school is never mentioned again reflects how Kaufman women are almost completely invisible compared to their male counterparts.
Most of the place names during Gunnar's time in Santa Monica are fairly accurate, but his school also has a strange name. Mestizo Mulatto Mongrel Elementary invokes three outdated terms for biracial people, which is ironic since the school claims to be progressive and not see color. His teacher's name, Ms. Cegeny, also pokes fun at the school's supposed "multiculturalism", since miscegeny is another outdated word for the mixing of races.
The White Boy Shuffle does have some actual places mixed in, like Reynier Park or 24th Street and Robertson Boulevard, which adds to its surreal, alternate-universe quality. Just when you're ready to Google a street to see what historical event it's alluding to, it turns out to actually exist.
Manischewitz Junior High, strangely enough, doesn't seem to have any major connotations with its name. The only thing I could find was a brand of Kosher food products, but no cultural references. However, Anita Bryant Junior High, where the Manischewitz students visit for the Shakespeare competition, has a whole host of connotations. Anita Bryant is a strongly homophobic activist known for leading numerous campaigns to deny gay people rights. Anita Bryant doesn't really have anything to do with black history, but I'm thinking her name-drop might be related to Nick's comment that Gunnar is "either a poet or a homosexual".
Gunnar's first high school, Phillis Wheatley High, is named after an African-American poet from the 1700s who was the first black woman to publish a book. It's interesting that Gunnar plays for a basketball team called the Mythopoets, linking his growing success both in the worlds of poetry and basketball.
His second high school, El Campesino Real, translates to "The royal peasant" in Spanish. This reflects how Gunnar is simultaneously adored for his basketball skills yet patronized by his school's counselors and given remedial classes. Though he's treated like royalty, Gunnar is effectively a peasant considering how little people care about his actual thoughts and opinions.
I found it really cool how little details like these throughout The White Boy Shuffle follow Gunnar's story and add extra insights to the plot if you take the time to look them up. Since this is the most current novel we've read so far, the references are interesting but not so obscure that they're meaningless to us.
But the strange names don't stop here. Particularly in schools, various locations in the novel have names that reference historical figures or events, adding a whole other level of literary allusion. For instance, Rolf Kaufman attends Jefferson Davis High (named after a notoriously racist Confederate general) with the white students in his town, rather than go to Dred Scott High (named after a landmark Supreme Court case denying black people citizenship). Also, both schools exist in a town called Yeehaw, Mississippi, which Beatty invented and which emphasizes the racist, redneck qualities of this setting.
Another high school that earns a passing mention is Madame C.J. Walker High, named after an influential black entrepreneur and philanthropist from the 1800s. We don't get any more detail about the school, just that Gunnar's relative Meredith played football there. The fact that the school is never mentioned again reflects how Kaufman women are almost completely invisible compared to their male counterparts.
Most of the place names during Gunnar's time in Santa Monica are fairly accurate, but his school also has a strange name. Mestizo Mulatto Mongrel Elementary invokes three outdated terms for biracial people, which is ironic since the school claims to be progressive and not see color. His teacher's name, Ms. Cegeny, also pokes fun at the school's supposed "multiculturalism", since miscegeny is another outdated word for the mixing of races.
The White Boy Shuffle does have some actual places mixed in, like Reynier Park or 24th Street and Robertson Boulevard, which adds to its surreal, alternate-universe quality. Just when you're ready to Google a street to see what historical event it's alluding to, it turns out to actually exist.
Manischewitz Junior High, strangely enough, doesn't seem to have any major connotations with its name. The only thing I could find was a brand of Kosher food products, but no cultural references. However, Anita Bryant Junior High, where the Manischewitz students visit for the Shakespeare competition, has a whole host of connotations. Anita Bryant is a strongly homophobic activist known for leading numerous campaigns to deny gay people rights. Anita Bryant doesn't really have anything to do with black history, but I'm thinking her name-drop might be related to Nick's comment that Gunnar is "either a poet or a homosexual".
Gunnar's first high school, Phillis Wheatley High, is named after an African-American poet from the 1700s who was the first black woman to publish a book. It's interesting that Gunnar plays for a basketball team called the Mythopoets, linking his growing success both in the worlds of poetry and basketball.
His second high school, El Campesino Real, translates to "The royal peasant" in Spanish. This reflects how Gunnar is simultaneously adored for his basketball skills yet patronized by his school's counselors and given remedial classes. Though he's treated like royalty, Gunnar is effectively a peasant considering how little people care about his actual thoughts and opinions.
I found it really cool how little details like these throughout The White Boy Shuffle follow Gunnar's story and add extra insights to the plot if you take the time to look them up. Since this is the most current novel we've read so far, the references are interesting but not so obscure that they're meaningless to us.
I certainly agree with the points you make. I think the names within this book are a large part of the quasi-reality/alternate dimension that Gunnar lives in. A lot of them are frankly preposterous and also extremely humorous, but many of them also provide astute social commentary, and much like a lot of small things in the book, names tend to mean something.
ReplyDeleteI think it's really cool what Beatty did with names in his novel. I actually didn't see all the connections you pointed out here, so thanks for that. I also think it's interesting to see how both Manischewitz Junior High and Phillis Wheatley High don't have any negative connections with their names and those are both places where he enjoyed being at (or at least liked the people there, like Nick). It's really interesting to see what meaning a name holds, which can provide, like you said, extra insights.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore I want to point out how most slaves took on their owners surname after they were freed, leading to African American families now having names that trace back to slavery. Names themselves hold historical significance to most people, but I think there is a special kind of irony about the Kaufman's having a white name, considering the historical data. But yes, Beatty seems to enjoy teasing us with different names that correlate to different cultural landmarks or people. :)
ReplyDeleteI love all of Beatty's references to historical people and places! The references add another layer of irony and extra details to an already rich text. I wish I could better understand Gunnar's references to Japanese literature later in the novel, because obviously he's influenced by the profound love and loneliness which often drive those characters to sepukku, or ritual suicide. I'd really like to meet Paul Beatty because he knows so much about everything.
ReplyDeleteI love how Beatty uses seemingly insignificant things like place names to create humor while simultaneously adding meaning to his plot. It feels almost like he's trolling us when he uses real place names or just strange ones (like Manischewitz Junior High), and it feels like he's laughing at the reader trying to find the connection between Kosher wine and systemic racism in America. I also love how the book is incredibly detailed without getting the name references, but for the more curious or more informed reader, understanding the names adds an entirely different dimension to the novel.
ReplyDeleteI love how Beatty takes these figures from history, many of whom we either don't know of or heard of in, like, elementary school, and name institutions after them that end up really defining the attendees. It's funny sometimes, like when Gunnar's third-grade teacher is literally named Ms. Ceginy, but it can also be tough, like how Gunnar's racist dad attends Jefferson Davis High.
ReplyDeleteIt's also interesting how Gunnar's family name is "Kaufman", which is German for something like "businessman" (the spelling would be "Kaufmann") (translated literally to "buy-man"). Gunnar's family having this German name yet being black certainly stirs up a lot of confusion, and I'm curious if anyone has any thoughts on if Gunnar's name being translated roughly to something like "businessman", if it represents anything.
ReplyDeleteBeatty's book has so many layers that I don't see how anyone could recognize all of his references. It seems that each paragraph has so many subtle hints to some past figure, event, movement, etc. that it amazes me. Whenever we focus on one particular area, these little details add up in such a way that either adds humor or more information or both. I can't even imagine how Beatty could make the novel so complex in such a way that flows nicely and is funny.
ReplyDeleteThese are some really interesting expansions to the various references in The White Boy Shuffle. I think that the "Royal Peasant" reference is particularly interesting, as it is obvious if you know Spanish (I do not) and not at all if you don't. Your point about the meaning also seems very accurate.
ReplyDeleteI think all of Beatty’s little references really add something to the book. You can get through the book and still get the message without understanding a majority of the little things Beatty slips in, but it’s so much better if you understand them. I have no clue how many of the references I missed throughout the book, but each one adds so much extra meaning to each scene. One could easily write an essay off of the names of the high schools alone and how they reflect on Gunnar’s situation, it’s crazy to think about how much we missed while going through it.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the "white" names of Gunnar's family line, I definitely feel like having more "white" names is an effort to assimilate, and I suppose also be a boot-licker. Generally, I feel like having a "white" name gives you a lot more privilege even as a person of color.
ReplyDelete