The guys from Nickel - Colson Whitehead

Impressive history

“Even after their death, the boys still caused nuisance." The rest of the prologue leaves no doubt about what kind of book to expect. On the ground that has come into possession of a project developer has been a disciplinary school with a questionable reputation. Before it can be built, the cemetery must be cleared. It's an abomination. It concerns the bodies of boys who died during the few years they had to spend at one of the many disciplinary schools.
The guys from NickelofColson Whiteheadis geïnspireerd door de geschiedenis ofde Dozier School for Boys, Florida.

Just like in The underground railway racism is an important theme.The guys from Nickelis told from the perspective of the black boys. These schools were also populated by white boys, but it is precisely the painful distinction in treatment, only because of skin colour, that underlines this theme.
Main character is Elwood Curtis. He lives with his grandma where his parents left him and he is an excellent student, even though he has to do it in terms of teaching material with the white boys. Because those go for. In thanks for their preferential treatment, they fill the textbooks with racist mud before going to the black children.. A fact of life, but luckily there are also some teachers who don't take it anymore.. It is one of the indications of the slowly declining acceptance of racism.
Elwood is under the spell of Martin Luther King's speeches, especially his non-violent opposition to discrimination. It will also be his attitude for the rest of his life.

Miracle above miracle he gets the opportunity to study, free of charge, as a project. On the first day he travels the distance on foot, but along the way he makes a decision that makes a dramatic turn. Elwood takes a ride from someone who just stole a car. They are apprehended and arrested. Elwood can't escape conviction and he has to go to Nickel's disciplinary school. And that while he didn't do anything wrong, but he's black.

That disciplinary school is hell on earth. Mistreatment and torture are the order of the day and the threat alone affects the atmosphere. But here too, the white boys have hit much better. They can sit their time relatively comfortably, the black boys have to survive until they are eighteen. Then they can leave and embark on a career unsuccessful. Elwood befriends a man named Jack Turner and they decide to try the almost impossible: escape.

It is clear that this theme Whitehead is at the heart. With a lot of empathy, he produces a history that could have happened just like that.. You might thinkThe guys from Nickelis only depressing and desolate, but that is not the case. Fortunately, there is also room for other sounds. Like the time jumps to later when it turns out that at least one of the boys has managed to escape the misery. It creates a glimmer of hope and enlightenment.