Racial Divides and Prejudices in America in the Nickel Boys and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Essay Example

The novel The Nickel Boys by Colsen Whitehead and the movie Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, directed by William Rose, portray racial divides and prejudices in America; however, they do so differently. The Nickel Boys is a thrilling book that depicts Elwood's day-to-day life and ultimate escape from Nickel's correction facility. The reader sees Elwood as an intellectual and behaved child who gets sent to Nickel due to false accusations. Elwood tries his best to conform with Nickel, but circumstances make it infeasible. Whitehead exposes how the racist judgment and harsh treatment of black inmates leaves very little room for them to be released alive and well. Elwood plans to make it to Ace, the highest rank that sets inmates free, but once he realizes miscreant people are in charge, he knows there is no way out anytime soon. Elwood plans to flee, but all good plans come to a sour end with Nickel. In contrast, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" is an eye-opening movie that portrays the racial divide in a more interpersonal way. The main character, John, is perceived as a second-class citizen in society due to the color of his skin, even though he is a mature and educated scholar. This compares to the conflicts experienced by the main character in Nickel Boys because Elwood is also a scholar who gets judged due to the color of his skin and is ultimately cast out from society. In the movie, Joey, a white woman, wants to marry John, an African American man. Their parents show great disapproval of the interracial marriage, but eventually, they realize that love is more important than skin color. Despite the challenging experiences in the novel and movie, the characters stay true to their morals of being humane, no matter the circumstance. Regardless of the different characters, contexts, and settings, both stories demonstrate that the best way to resist hate and racism is with romantic and community love and kindness. Love and kindness are the ultimate weapons against racism, but being naive to these weapons will lead to demise. 

Elwood faces various adversities in the novel, resulting from his incarceration. This is historically significant because African-American males were disproportionately incarcerated in the United States. According to the Pew Research Center, Black men were incarcerated at almost four times the rate of white men in the 1960s when the novel took place (Pew Research Center). A significant factor that gets Elwood through his day-to-day life is his close relationship with his grandma, Harriet. Once Elwood is sent to Nickel, he must learn to thrive on community love because his grandma is not there to help and love him. Elwood makes new friends like Jaimie, Desmond, and Turner, who support each other and make the experience at Nickel more bearable. One day Elwood sees a fight and tries to break it up. The administration thinks he is the fight's instigator, so he gets a harsh whipping. It was "On visiting day, he told her he was okay but sad, it was difficult, but he was hanging in there, when all he wanted to say was, look at what they did to me, look at what they did to me" (83, Whitehead). This demonstrates that although Elwood is in agony, he still keeps his morals and protects his grandmother from mental stress. 

Elwood is eager to get out of Nickel to enhance his education in College. Unfortunately, his lawyer leaves, but Elwood shows no reaction to not upset his grandma (158). Throughout Elwood's stay at Nickel, he witnesses unnecessary beatings and dehumanization. One day Inspectors come to make sure everything is running smoothly at Nickel; Elwood sees this as his opportunity to expose how horrible Nickel is. Elwood writes a letter describing Nickel to the inspectors. Even though Elwood could get in trouble for writing the letter to the inspectors, he writes it anyhow and stays true to his beliefs (183). This shows how humane Elwood is and that he sacrifices himself to benefit others who are enduring Nickel. Elwood tolerates Nickel through community love and stays civil, opposing the false ideology that African Americans are discourteous.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner portrays how being an African American male in 1967 comes with many challenges, even amongst the most accepting citizens. In addition to not being accepted in professional spaces, many African-Americans are discriminated against socially. In 1967, the same year as the film was released, the United States Supreme Court outlawed anti-miscegenation laws, and many people still disapproved of interracial relationships. Only 3 percent of marriages were interracial in 1967 (Pew Research Center). John wants to marry Joey, but various challenges come with this marriage, like parental approval, societal approval, and internal approval. John loves Joey, but he deals with internal problems. He does not want to tell his parents that he is in an interracial relationship due to being afraid of their reaction.

John says to Joey, "After all, a lot of people are going to think we are a shocking pair" (Rose, 00:16:00). John thinks about the possible consequences of their relationship, while Joey does not acknowledge any hardships to come (Rose). Fortunately, John is tenacious and does not allow his relationship with Joey to dissipate. John is strong by even dating Joey in the first place because his wife and children were killed in a past accident (Rose). Most people will never move on with another person after an experience of that magnitude. Since John has the power to move on from a melancholy and tragic past, it shows his strength and perseverance. Throughout the movie, John faces adversity in his relationship with his parents and Joey's parents. Eventually, the parents see how in love John and Joey are, making them realize that skin color is not the deciding factor for a happy marriage. John overcomes another hampering wall to marry Joey, proving that romantic love is more potent than external adversities. In brief, John is unassailable and resists discrimination through the potency of love.   

Both The Nickel Boys and "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" share essential themes of perseverance, resistance, and staying true to morals, but they do not share a common racial treatment. Nickel Boys consists of violent physical racism, while "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" consists of mental and verbal racism. An example of physical racism in Nickel Boys is when Griff beats his white boxing opponent. Spencer takes this personally and, after the fight, beats and kills Griff (114). An example of verbal and mental racism in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" is when Tilly tells John, "I don't care to see a member of my own race getting above himself."(00:10:00). The novel and the movie share a similar narrative perspective and genre, but not writing style. The narrative perspective does not focus on one character alone in the novel. Characters like Turner, Jaimie, and Desmond are also focused on, enhancing the reader's understanding of different racial perspectives and points of view at any given time. This is also seen in the movie; characters like Joey's parents, John's parents, Monsignor Ryan, and Tilly have a significant role. This helps the viewer understand certain scenes without having to say anything.

An example of the characters speaking without words is when we see Tilly's disgusted face every time she sees John and Joey together. Both the novel and movie consist of a similar genre; defying racism. Defying racism in the 1950s-1960s became more ordinary due to African-American public figures that set this norm. For example, Rosa Parks sits at the front of the bus even though this is prohibited, she even defies the police in this act (History). In the novel, we see Elwood wanting freedom towards the book's conclusion. Elwood is not the type to step out of line, but he makes a daring escape from Nickel. Although he gets killed, he still defies Nickel and racism. In the movie, it is clear that society thinks it is only valid to be in relationships with those of the same race. John defies this by being in a relationship with a white woman. The writing style is different for the movie and novel because the novel is descriptive of each scene, while the movie says enough words without saying anything. To sum up, the novel and the movie share key aspects with few comparisons. 

In "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" and The Nickel Boys, forms of racism and hate are inflicted; the protagonist's mindset helps them overcome this. Both John and Elwood are continuously demeaned, but their constant upkeep of humanity and morals throughout give them an unbreakable mentality at some point in the novel and movie. Although, both protagonists can not have accomplished this without their form of love fueling them. Elwood builds bonds at Nickel, creating an aura of community love around him. Friends like Jaimie, Desmond, and Turner, use humor to lighten the mood and severity of their situation at Nickel. The friendships even go so far that Turner is willing to help Elwood escape from Nickel so they can live a better life. John thrives off of the romantic love that Joey gives him. Joey puts John's mind at ease about their interracial relationship, which ultimately works. Joey also eases tension amongst the parents by conveying how much she loves John. In conclusion, love and kindness is the preeminent way of resisting racism.