Questions for Part I "Boy Man"
#1: Grandmama teaches Laymon something about choices in “Been.” Recap what her main points were and explain why you think she addressed them to her grandson. Then, choose another example of fraught choices in the section that you have read—a different chapter. Explain the significance of the choice in the context of the events and the setting.
#2: The title has several meanings, but one is of literal body size. What aspects of the text thus far address issues related to body image? How do you see the author complicating the matter such that psychologist’s advice is rendered trivial and silly?
#3: Why does Laymon take umbrage with Malachi Hunter’s assessment of a “revolutionary black man from Mississippi”? Consider Laymon’s representation of the men and older boys from the reading so far. What does he suggest about the nature of masculinity in this place and time? For example: From where does masculine identity derive? How is it reinforced and affirmed? What are the codes and social norms that boys must navigate?
#4: “For the first time in my life I realized that telling the truth was way different from finding the truth, and finding the truth had everything to do with revisiting and rearranging words (86) Discuss the purpose of revision in Laymon’s life in ways both literal and metaphorical.
#5: In “Gumption,” Laymon indicts most of his former teachers as lacking gumption. He laments, “They never once said the words: ‘economic inequality,’ ‘housing discrimination,’ ‘sexual violence,’ ‘mass incarceration,’ ‘homophobia,’ ‘empire,’ ‘mass eviction,’ ‘post traumatic stress disorder,’ ‘white supremacy,’ ‘patriarchy,’ ‘neo-confederacy,’ ‘mental health,’ or ‘parental abuse,’ yet every student and teacher at that school lived in a world shaped by those words.” Considering only the details that you read in “Meager,” “Contraction,” “Hulk,” and “Gumption,” describe an example of one of the concepts that Laymon faults teachers for not fully understanding. Your example can reflect any of the people who are described in these chapters.
#6: LaThon and Laymon have the refrain of “black abundance.” What is this and why do they need it so much? Use multiple, specific examples from different chapters in this section to develop your answer.