One Final Reflection: New Kid and This Semester

The humor present in New Kid is exemplary of what we have been discussing all semester long: the ability of humor to introduce serious issues in a non-threatening, yet still serious, manner. Craft’s utilization of the power of laughter allows him to talk about the serious and frequent issues of racism that black kids have to deal with around upper-class white society, and the challenges and stereotypes that they face. The usage of a childlike art style and mentality allow him to show this behavior as childish and immature itself – and the constant comparisons between the kids and the adults emphasizes his point that those who act this way have never truly grown up.

An example that can highlight this comparison is the phenomenon of calling the black students by each other’s names. It is frequently mentioned that both the students and the teachers do this, yet we only are shown the adults’ behavior. Craft critiques this through the narrative, yes, but he does so most prominently through one of Jordan’s comics, in which he explains why being called someone else’s name is so much more hurtful than being insulted. This honest and simplistic approach ironically reveals Jordan to be more mature and introspective than his teacher and switches their places to put him in the role of the adult and the racist homeroom teacher in that of the child. This is furthered by the usage of the character of Andy, the most obviously immature kid at school, whose behavior is practically mirrored by other teachers such as the soccer coach (for example, Andy constantly telling others that what he says isn’t racist is very similar to the coach constantly asking others if what he says is racist). By offering these comedic role-reversals of the students as the adults and the teachers as the children, Craft is using humor to reveal the reality of racism in such high-class environments.

For a small commentary on this semester, I found myself most moved, amused, and inspired by the writings of Sedaris, Perry, and Craft. Not only were they persuasive and honest, but they weren’t preachy or self-righteous or even self-aggrandizing like many of the other writers, and their sense of humor wasn’t hidden behind many other narrative elements like with a few writers near the end. Sedaris, Perry, and Craft offered both new perspectives on issues and artfully articulated explanations of others that I may have had difficulties in explaining myself but now have words for.