Race and Identity in "New Kid"

 

Jerry Kraft uses lighthearted humor to describe racial issues and identity in his comic book “New Kid.” It follows the “new kid” Jordan as he enters and adjusts to a school in which the majority of the people are different from him; they are rich and white. One thing about this book that is different than the other ones we have read, is that it is written (or drawn) in a graphic novel/cartoon style. Because of this, the drawings themselves are funny rather than the text.

              In the very beginning of the book, one part that made me laugh was when the kids called Maury an Oreo because he was “black on the outside and white on the inside.” To accompany this text, the drawing showed Maury’s body with his head in the shape of a sad-looking Oreo. The book deals with a lot of racial profiling and pointing out stereotypes as well. In Maury’s case, even though (arguably) there is no such thing as “black” and “white” activities and status’, Maury was said to be “white on the inside” because he was wealthy and “proper” as if black people could not be the same. The same situation can be seen with Drew. Not only does the female teacher call him the name of another black student, as Jordan says, implying that she does not care, but he is also the target of racial stereotyping. For example, Andy implies that Drew only got the quarterback position because he is black, and everyone assumes for some reason that he plays basketball. Because Drew is darker-skinned than Jordan, he gets most of the racial stereotypes placed on him.

              To continue stereotypes, Andy is the token privileged white boy, and Liam is the rich white friend that is actually very cool and chill. Liam serves to show how not all rich white people are the same. The audience and characters would assume that he fits right into the privileged school, however, Liam mentions how even feels like he does not fit in, and he associates better with the non-white kids like Jordan and Drew. This shows how everyone can struggle with their identity and fitting in. Jordan also struggles with balancing his identity, as he feels like he should act or dress differently with his black friends. This can also be seen when he changes his clothes when he travels to and from school. When he gets closer to the school, he pulls out his sketchbook and starts drawing, and as he gets closer to home, he puts his sketchbook away and takes out his sunglasses to fit in with the other people.

              Kraft uses comedy in a casual and funny way to lightheartedly describe struggles with race and identity. Because the book takes place in a school and is aimed towards a younger audience, a lot of the racial “jokes” can be taken lightly, however, they can also/should be taken seriously in real-life situations. Even though in the beginning Jordan feels out of place because he does not identify with the most of students, as time goes on, he discovers that he is not that different from them, and they actually have a lot of things in common. By the end, an allyship forms between all the students and they all become united. In a way, this book adheres to the classic saying of not judging a book by its cover.