Essay On The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

In The Nickel Boys, Colson Whitehead describes the reality of life at a notorious reform school with no interest in genuine reform. In a world already filled with far too much discrimination, hate, and violence, the Nickel Academy amplifies these realities for young, often underprivileged children. Inequalities are demonstrated through lackluster educational efforts, gruesome punishments, arbitrary rules, and excessive displays of power that is held over students. Power is unfairly exerted over students to establish rhetoric of dominance and to encourage submission and obedience. Although there is no shortage of complex, nuanced relationships at the Nickel Academy, the effects of unequal power dynamics are most prominently seen between students, between teachers and students, and between the school and the community at large.

Undeniably, the school is a nightmare for young children of all races, however the fact remains that Nickel is even worse for Black students. White students have clothing that fits better, nicer facilities, less hard labor and a lessened threat of irrevocable violence. Power dynamics between students of differing races is exemplified when Elwood is first picked up by a police officer to be transported to the Nickel Academy. He rides in the backseat of the car with two other white students, neither of whom particularly enjoy Elwood’s presence. Elwood observes that “whenever their legs touched on the drive, Bill pulled back as if he’d leaned against a hot chimney stove” (Whitehead 71) . Evidently, the white students feel that they are superior to the Black students because of Jim Crow laws and societal discrimination that remained highly prevalent at this time. Although the white and Black students are separated at Nickel, it is evident that racism runs rampant through the students, school, and state. The superiority that white students feel over Black students is enforced by the school and the fact that they are treated marginally better.

Students at the Nickel Academy are forced to rely on one another for their own survival. Elwood utilizes advice given to him by Turner and Desmond in order to stay out of trouble and get out of the school as soon as possible. As with any other school, there are some students who develop their own internal hierarchy over other students the same age. At Nickel, there are bullies who feed on the fear of their fellow students, in the same way the teachers feed on the fear of the students. Elwood witnesses these bullies on his first day at Nickel and says that “the three of them owned the other end of the table- the seats between were empty because everyone else knew better” (Whitehead 90). In most cases of bullying, regardless of age, race, or gender, a bully exists because they desire attention, lack self-confidence, have a need for control, or are projecting their own fear or experiences onto another person. Bullies sometimes come from cruel beginnings, like in Griff’s case, his father “was on a chain gang in Alabama for murdering his mother, making his meanness a handed down thing” (Whitehead 90). Power dynamics between the students, even those of the same race, create an additionally complex environment at Nickel. Students have to be weary of virtually all other students, Black or white, and keep to themselves if they wish to be spared the negative consequences of unequal power distribution.

The relationship between the teachers and the students is arguably the most dominant and influential power dynamic in the book. Teachers are granted the ability to directly control the students’ fates. As Desmond tells Elwood, “’You got a coin toss over whether they look the other way or hassle you’” (Whitehead 99). Teachers get to decide on a whim whether or not they like students and if they will either grant them a bit of leeway or chastise their every move. The lack of logic behind teachers exploiting their position exerts a sense of inadvertent dread over the students, who constantly must be aware of their surroundings and how they are being perceived.     Power and violence are frequently utilized in a completely arbitrary manner, without regard to actual behavior. Elwood observes the arbitrary nature of power and violence when he remarks that “maybe there was no system at all to the violence and no one, not the keepers nor the kept, knew what happened or why” (Whitehead 108). The teachers at the Nickel Academy frequently have superiority complexes and are encouraged to reprimand any student who steps out of line. Punishments range from getting savagely beaten, to solitary confinement, to death. Even the smallest of infractions, such standing up for another student being bullied, can trigger the most gruesome punishments. Elwood stops Corey from bullies but receives the most brutal beating out of all the boys involved. Although nonsensical, the teachers aim to teach Elwood a lesson that submission is preferred over anything else, even noble causes such as standing up for others.

Another dimension to this power dynamic is the idea that teachers are molded to fit into a certain archetype at the Nickel Academy. Whitehead writes that “the young teachers never lasted long before they moved on” (183). Young teachers or new hires quickly find out that no genuine efforts for education are made, supplies are limited, and students are easily exploitable. New teachers to the school are forced to either quit or assimilation into developing a false sense of agency and power. The Nickel Academy is undoubtedly appealing to young teachers trying to make an impact because it seems to be a place of genuine reform and rehabilitation for young children who might have been born into unfair circumstances. The reality of the situation which is quickly discovered by an individual working at the school is much more sinister than this idealistic view.

The dynamics between the community and the Nickel Academy play a larger role in the book than is specifically, outwardly described. The community and the state benefit from the school because of Nickel’s brick making and pamphlet printing enterprises. The community also benefits from free labor at the school’s expense, such as painting and small home repairs. Turner tells Elwood that “’All those guys on the school board, they have us do chores’” (Whitehead 145). The community members make up the school’s board, and therefore have direct oversight over student’s daily activities and jobs. Many of the businesses in the town also buy supplies sold by the school for a profit. Elwood remarks that the school sells most of the food, essential supplies like toothpaste, and school supplies in order to make a profit. Selling supplies intended for use at the school creates an environment of scarcity and cruelty, for no reason other than greed. Due to the benefits the community reaps, it is evident that they have a vested interest in making sure the school has a surplus of children in its custody at all times. Community members almost act as an extension of the teachers, namely in the form of keeping an eye out and returning any runaway children. A blind eye is turned to the violence that occurs at the school, of which the community is almost certainly aware.

Power dynamics, specifically white people using their privilege as leverage over Black people, is a narrative that is seen repeatedly throughout history and continues today. The Nickel Boys demonstrates the incredibly toxic ways that this can manifest itself. In an analysis of the book that compares the Nickel Academy to modern correctional institutions, Paula Martín-Salván writes that “the correctional system is not meant to erase class or race differences, but to enhance them” (12). As she hints at in this article, The Nickel Boys is largely symbolic of the larger systems of power and inequality that exist in the U.S. today. Unequal distributions of power can be seen in legislation, facilities, systems of justice, and everyday discrimination that continues the legacies of racism.