How I relate to Benji's Character
How I relate to Benji's Character
We have read many books in Coming of Age novel, and out of all of these books I have liked Sag Harbor and Black Swan Green the most. The reason being I could relate more to both of the character since they were both boys starting to become teenagers. But, I could relate a lot more to the protagonist of Sag Harbor Benji. Since Benji is a African-American who struggles fitting with his identity especially in the beginning of the book. The reason why I can relate to this character is because I am also a African-American who struggles a bit with fitting into my culture. In this blog post, I want to dive a bit into Benji's character and him trying to fit into sag harbor and African-American culture.
One of the major similarities between me and Benji is that Benji as well as me both went into private schools that didn't have a much black people. We can tell in the story that Benji going to a private school with not as much black culture as well as Sag Harbor culture is shown though Benji not knowing black historical figures "One of my Uncles would be over and mention Marcus Garvey and I'd ask, "Who's that?," as the eyes of all the adults in the room slitted for a sad round of tsk tsking." (Whitehead 15) While my parents and my family members won't get disappointed when I do know who a black hisotrical figure is. This experience reminds me of a story my parents told me. They told me that when I was in kindergarten, in music we were learning about Louis Armstrong, and I didn't know who he was. Later when my parents came to pick me up they ran into the music teacher and she said "I was surprised your boys (me and Akeel) didn't know who Louis Armstrong was." It was like knowing historical black figures was expected for me. (Do you think I should've knew who Louis Armstrong was in kindergarten let me know if you comment)
The last thing I want to talk about is slang. I am not going to into a deep dive into the history of slang words but, I think that me personally growing up in more of private school with more white people. Like I said I missed out on a lot of culture and slang was one of them. I know it is not a big moment in the book but since it was there I wanted to mention it. "Hanging out with NP was to start catching up on nine months of black slang and other sundry soulful artifacts I'd missed out on in my "predominantly white" private school" (Whitehead 27). I was always insecure about myself because I didn't speak like a "normal black person." I have learned to be more confident in myself. To finish, I just really liked how this book has so much in common to me and my life as a black teenager. I am very excited to finish this book and I hope Benji comes of age at the end.
This reflection of both yourself and Benji with relation to a different point in time yet remaining a character facing similar challenges and situations growing up is very well done. The representation of Benji in the coming of age novel space is quite important and I agree that I appreciated it. Well done!
ReplyDeleteHi Amari! I appreciate how you connect Benji's experiences of not knowing famous black figures and slang to your own. I also feel that reading relatable stories helps me understand myself better and be more confident. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Amari! Reading books where you can relate to the protagonist typically greatly increases connection and overall enjoyment of the novel. The comparisons you drew make perfect sense as I can understand facing similar confusions and difficulties! Great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Amari, great blog :D I always thought it was so cool and interesting when people related their own stories to characters in the book. You found very valid reasons connecting your experiences with Benji's. I relate with you on the slang one, just that it would be chinese slang in my case (or maybe more like texting abbreviations lol)
ReplyDeleteHey Amari, as a black teenager I can also agree with your points. If I were to be honest, I didn't know about people like Marcus Garvey until Junior year High School. While I did go to a predominantly black school during elementary school, I wasn't really introduced to much black slang mainly because of my "immigrant" identity until middle school. I think that sense of relatability can also make the book seem stronger to you and me because it kind of gives this sense of unity. Good job!
ReplyDeleteHi Amari! This blog was more amazing than calamari! I liked reading about not just the text but how it applies to your personal experiences as well. Benji's accounts of how people have unwritten racial rules make him very relatable as you noted in your experiences with historical knowledge and slang expectations.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog Amari! It was really cool to see how you related to Benji in this book and I think it makes reading it a lot more powerful. It's interesting how we can use books to work through our own emotions a bit and see that we're not alone. I'm glad to hear you've become more confident!
ReplyDeleteIt is kind of funny that your kindergarten teacher expected your family to have had some deep sessions on the history of jazz as part of your nightly Black History over Dinner curriculum. Most kindergartners have never heard of jazz, and most of them are likely unfamiliar with cultural luminaries from the mid-twentieth-century. And if this brief unit on jazz and Black history was indeed part of the curriculum, isn't the assumption that none of the kids in class have likely heard of this stuff before? Isn't the point to introduce them to important figures from the past?
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of the scene in _If I Ever Get Out of Here_ by Eric Gansworth, which my LL2 classes read: the Native American student Lewis in music class, desperately hoping that his Native identity will not be revealed because there's a racist bully in his section, and the teacher starts in about how they're going to do a special section on tribal drums, and there's a particular student in class for whom this will surely be a special treat . . . (when Lewis has no experience with tribal drums and has no idea what the teacher is talking about).