Date of Award
Spring 4-5-2024
Document Type
Honors Project
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
English and Linguistics
Department Chair or Program Director
Levin, Jonathan
First Advisor
Kate Haffey
Major or Concentration
<--Please Select Major or Concentration-->
Abstract
This paper examines the ways in which Paul Beatty uses dark humor as a coping mechanism for racial trauma, as well as a way of critiquing society’s treatment of Black people in his novel, The Sellout. Throughout his novel, Beatty discusses various controversial topics such as police brutality, segregation, and slavery. Although these topics are not lighthearted in any sense, Beatty uses satire and comedy to describe them to the reader. This paper seeks to elucidate why Beatty would use comedy to discuss the racial injustices and inequalities that Black people have faced in the past and in the present. Much research has shown that African Americans have used humor to laugh at instances that were unjust and cruel in order to create distance from what would otherwise obliterate a sense of self and community. Therefore, I drew upon Dexter B. Gordon’s research and analysis of how African Americans speak about their oppression, and applied this theory to The Sellout to demonstrate how humor is a coping mechanism for racial trauma. In the same sense, this paper strives to explain how satire and irony work together in The Sellout to criticize how society views and mistreats Black people.
Recommended Citation
Redd, Mihaughany, "Who’s Laughing Now? Comedy as Coping Mechanism and Critique in Paul Beatty’s The Sellout" (2024). Student Research Submissions. 573.
https://scholar.umw.edu/student_research/573