Although it may seem like a strange comparison W. W. and Thor Wintergreen both play similar roles but on opposite ends of the color spectrum (literally and figuratively) in Reed's Mumbo Jumbo. It was brought up in class that Thor is like the token white guy. Some of the group members are wary of having Thor involved because of his race, however Berbelang stands up for him. Because of this reaction, the argument could be made that Berbelang wants Thor to be part of the Mu'tafikah so that they will have caucasian representation among their ranks.
I do not like how Reed let Thor's story play out. Thor appeared to be quite genuine in his motives for joining and helping the Mu'tafikah. While it may be true that he had not yet proven himself to the rest of the group, it seemed as though he would step up to the plate when given the opportunity. Instead, he caved in to Musclewhite sickeningly quickly. The points that Musclewhite made in order to persuade Thor to join his (the dark) side were supposed to make Berbelang look bad, and apparently to Thor this worked but to the reader it just made Berbelang look better. Musclewhite describes him as "The insolent freeman who will sit in the front of the bus and look about as if to say 'who don't like it?'" Rosa Parks anyone? In a modern day context Musclewhite's words do not sound so outrageous, making it even worse for Thor to have been so fickle. In light of this situation, the "token white guy" plays his part well showing that he is no more worthy of respect than the rest of the Wallflower group.
So how does this character of Thor related to the character of W. W? W. W. holds the role of the "token black guy" even more so than Thor. However, the main difference between what Thor and W.W. do for the novel is that Thor reinforces the idea that all of the white characters are the same, while W.W. helps to show how different the black characters are.
Woodrow Wilson is originally from Mississippi and moves to Harlem looking for a change from his ordinary life. W. W. has not yet been integrated into the Harlem Renaissance culture. In fact, he is less knowledgable on this subject matter than most of the white characters. Hinkle Von Vampton posts the sign "Negro Viewpoint Wanted" and W. W. takes the job. Hinkle assumes that all negro viewpoints are the same. He only needs this position filled so that his magazine will be somehow more credible now having the "token black guy." His ignorance will only prove him wrong. W.W. seems only to go along with their requests because he doesn't know any better. Thus when his reverend father comes and takes him back to MS, the reader sees how different the environment that W.W. has been raised in is and sees that no matter what Hinkle wants of him, he could never effectively be the sought out Talking Android.
I thought it was very interesting that the Mu'tafikah did have such diversity in it's group, since so far we've only dealt with black and white characters. I definitely agree that Reed had Thor cave in way too quickly and it makes him look really naive and childish.
ReplyDeleteThe multicultural makeup of the Mu'tafikah is important, as it reflects the idea that "Atonism" has taken this dominant/repressive role throughout the world. The African/European conflict is only the most prominent in the contemporary/1920s United States, and it's the one Reed is primarily concerned with. But the museums allow him to widen his scope to include Latin America and Asia as well.
ReplyDeleteOne possible direction your comments here could take, Marie, is to suggest that Reed himself is guilty of the same kind of one-dimensional thinking he criticizes in the whole "Negro Viewpoint" idea. His own implication of an "under-the-skin" deep sympathy between Biff and Thor does seem to reflect a "white viewpoint" that can't really be transcended.