Experiencing an unfamiliar perspective in New Kid

 Jerry Craft's New Kid expertly shares the experience of a black boy entering a predominately white school as a new student in a new area. Through graphic illustration, readers feel as if they are inside the head of Jordan, which is a perspective that I have never had as a white person. While I could never understand Jordan's position in life, I feel that Craft's humor provides insight into how Jordan experiences this major transition, where he is challenged by microaggressions and racist assumptions. There is a layer of personality and accessibility, which is powerful considering the audience of this book is kids age 8-12. 

Each chapter correlates with a pop culture reference, which adds a sphere of humor and relatability. For example, chapter four is titled Upper Upper West Side Story as a play on the classic musical, West Side Story, where individuals from two different ethnicities are kept apart. Craft's use of allusion, in this instance, demonstrates Jordan's difficulty straddling where he's from and where he goes to school. Not only does Jordan struggle to reconcile either world, but it seems he has trouble finding his place in both. 

While many students alike may feel the difficulty of not fitting in at school, Craft goes a step further to share Black joy and Black trauma through the use of irony and stereotypes. For example, the black students at Riverdale are constantly confused with one another.  It is purely ironic when the black teacher gets confused with the coach by a white teacher immediately after telling Jordan that no one knows his name because he is new on page 61. Or in other instances, Jordan explains that he must act differently on the bus depending on where he is in town; this is a habit that I will never understand. While Jordan pokes fun at his changing appearance, the truth behind this story is that I would never consider needing to change my appearance to feel less like a threat to others. It is not funny, but rather incredibly sad and sickening that Jordan, a 12 year old, had to learn this due to the unjust society we live in. I imagine this scenario impacting the younger readers who would require an explanation behind the lines: "That new kid is kinda cool. Yet so non-threatening!" (Craft 57) This is one of many examples of Jordan feeling the weight of racist stereotypes, such as the assumption that he is a great athlete or doesn't have a father. While it seems lighthearted and innocent, we truly see how these comments and mistake impact Jordan. His comics are a place for him to tell his truth, which is a vehicle for Craft to do so about the reality of microaggressions and the minority experience. 

Craft, like most of the authors this semester, uses humor to reveal what is difficult to share in conventional terms. Throughout all of our discussions on humor, I have learned how this area of literature is truly complex; it is not just about being funny. Rather, these authors master the use of irony, puns, satire, and subtlety to create conversation on topics that demand attention. I have found it most difficult to discern the boundary of humor - who has the right to make topics humorous and in what capacity? While I do not have a solid answer, I think we have concluded as a class that it depends on the topic and who the humor impacts. The objective is to never be harmful, but have a greater purpose in poking fun at someone or something. I look forward to continue reading with this newfound perspective on the power and complexity of humor and how it progresses literature to a place of greater understanding and openness.