BLACK CULTURE AND SILLY PUTTY RACISM IN TRACY CHEVALIER’S NEW BOY
BLACK CULTURE AND SILLY PUTTY RACISM IN TRACY CHEVALIER’S NEW BOY

Summary/Abstract: The paper analyzes instances of prejudice in Tracy Chevalier’s novel New Boy, which is called Silly Putty racism based on common features between the substance and the characters’ manifestations in this sense: versatility, moldability, the presence of hidden aspects, the way it is being toyed with and, last but not least, its slippery and unpleasant nature. After the Introduction, which sets the scene, discussing context, and explains the central metaphor, the study is further divided into parts according to the sets of characters that it scrutinizes from under this lens – teachers and children, passing then to a gaze at some aspects of Black culture present in the story. The conclusions sum up the findings regarding biases, types of Black culture and its presentation, and the tragic and shocking denouement of the narrative. The perspective is a cultural studies stance, with resort to identity, imagology, ethnicity, stereotyping, marginal studies and psychology.

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