“I have heard this mainly about my novels, from editors who have rejected me and reviewers whom I have apparently confused and, on a couple of occasions, on a basketball court when upon missing a shot I muttered Egads.”
As a black writer Monk is pigeonholed to works that highlight the racial stereotypes of black Americans akin to most minority writers. However, Monk is inspired by aesthetics and genres that do not particularly adhere to the genre that is typically expected from a black writer. Thus, his novels fail to be successful because they are apparently confusing for the reviewers and the audience. To achieve success Monk decides to bend to the will of mass appeal, hence misrepresents his race by emphasizing the urban themes expected from him due to the color of his skin.
“I don't believe in race. I believe there are people who will shoot me or hang me or cheat me and try to stop me because they do believe in race, because of my brown skin, curly hair, wide nose, and slave ancestors.”
The novel deals with themes of racism and identity therefore through the protagonist it explores his struggle with self-identity and societal attitudes on race. Monk does not believe in race and wishes to mold his identity as he views himself, as seen through his childhood and initial literary works. However societal constructions on race overpower self-identification as physical appearance, skin color, and public attitude strongly dictate one’s identity. Thus, through this perspective his identity is out of his control despite efforts to subvert the stereotypes.
“While in college I was a member of the Black Panther Party, defunct as it was, mainly because I felt I had to prove I was black enough.”
Monk feels the pressures of having to overcompensate certain aspects of his identity in order to prove his blackness. He is different in terms of his interests and inclinations, which render him as an individual with a distinct identity. Nonetheless, society links race to personality hence he is expected to show the stereotypical aspects of being black. Thus, it pressures him to prove himself even into adulthood and in his later literary works.
