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Avedikian

Armen Avedikian
Jackie Hymes
English 114B
March 16, 2015
Normal Perception
Angry Black White Boy by Adam Mansbach shows how the
normal perception of race is perceived by how people see other races.
Macon the main character of the novel is a white twenty-year-old
college kid, but he is conflicting the normal perception of how you see
a white twenty-year-old boy. Macon classifies himself as being Black
and has two black friends named Andre and Nique who get him to do
ridiculous acts like leading the civil rights movements for black people.
Macon supports the black culture and is heavily influenced by hip/hop
and rap in his community. Malcolm X and black culture also heavily
influence Macon. Macon associates with the black culture and feels
like theirs evil in white people. Macon is just not the typical perception
you would have for a twenty-year-old white boy because of his actions
in the novel, like mugging white people, and criticizing white people for
their treatment on the black folks.
Macons actions indicate and show how he feels and what race
he views himself. Macon just is greatly influenced by the black culture
and considers himself as this Black White Boy. He believes that White
people owe an apology to the blacks and believes that there is evil in

Avedikian

White people. Macon feels white people have done wrong and have
mistreated the Black people and its culture. Macons act of robbery
shows his strong beliefs against white people. Macon is a taxi driver
and as he goes with his job he holds up the white customers in his
taxicab and robs the white people inside as he calls them ignorant
white devil assholes. While Macon robs the white people in the taxi, he
has this hatred towards them and calls them names as if he feels and
understands the racism the same way black people do. Macon asks
the white people as he robs them, Its not a trick question! Take a
good look. What fucking color am I?(Mansbach 112). Macon Asks the
people he is robbing this question, what color am I, and then asks them
to take a good look with the gun next to his face. Macon wants the
white people he is robbing to know exactly what race he is so the news
spreads and people know it wasnt a black male that robbed the
people. Macon wants a message to be sent to the white people as he
robs them in his taxicab. The normal perception of the white people
was that they thought it was a black man robbing them in the taxi but
instead it was Macon a white guy. After they initially describe Macon to
the police officer as being a tall black male that has rob the white
people in the taxicab because of normal perception. Macon gets upset
and considers himself as being non-white, and sees himself as being a
Malcolm X figure and is greatly influenced by the black culture also
Hip/hop and rap.

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The amount of impact and influence that the black culture and
Malcolm X has on Macon and his lifestyle has greatly been shown.
Malcolm X was human rights activist and advocated for the rights of
black men is the role model of Macon. Malcolm X is Macons biggest
role model and highly respects him. The normal perception of a white
males role model wouldnt be a black male who fought for black rights
during that time period. Macons clothing and the music he listens to
is also not the normal perception of a white boy. Listening to hip/hop
and rap and wearing Timberlands and a Malcolm X t-shirt wouldnt be a
normal perception of a white male during a time with race riots and
civil right movements. The normal stereotype of a white male would be
that he listens to rock or country music but definitely not Rap like
Macon. Macon also likes to wear the Malcolm X t-shirt to get people to
ask him questions to show the others about his knowledge about his
role model Malcolm X. Macon is greatly influenced by the black culture
and isnt seen as the normal white male you would find in his
community. Macons two best friends Andre and Nique are also black
males. Macon is different from a stereotypical white male who would
mostly hang out with white male and females. Macons lifestyle and
his actions are as if he was a black boy and not the white boy he really
is. He goes from robbing white people to hating them and also feeling
as if he is a black male instead of a white male. Nathaniel Rich says in
his article,Mansbach makes most of his observation about racial

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identity and racism through satire. This is showing how the author of
this book is using race identity to classify the characters. Race identity
is similar to the normal perception of how people view race. Mansbach
is making observations about racial identity by using satire which
makes it less realistic by makes his point that he is trying to get across
stronger.
Macons community doesnt view Macon as white male because
of the way he acts and instead they see Macon as a black male.
Macons friends Andre and Nique want Macon to be a civil rights leader
like his role model Malcolm X and to help support the black community.
A white male being the activist leader for blacks in his community is so
far from being the normal perception and the stereotype of the activist
leader. The character of Malcolm X and how he was a black male
fighting for black rights is even shown in the book. This shows how
Macon is trying to do the same thing, which is not a normal perception
because he is a white male. For a white male to go out and fight for
black civil rights during that time period is not in any way common.
Juan F Perea says in his article, We have a place for the Negro and a
place for the white man. Perea is saying how we have certain places
and normal perception of the races and where they belong. In our
society he is saying that we have certain ways that we see certain
races and how they should act and be. The normal perception of

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different races plays a big role in this novel and during that time
period.
Angry Black White Boy by Adam Mansbach, shows Macon as not
the normal white male you picture because of his action, friends, and
beliefs he has. For a white male to go out and mug his own race and
to hang out with different races, and act like an other race is very
different and definitely not normal perception of a white male
especially during the time period of the book. The ending of the novel
when Macon gets killed by Buglate, who is another white man killing
Macon for his role in helping the black people. Macons killer says after
killing Macon that he was a black man inside and a white man outside.
The normal perception of a white man killing another white man
because of supporting blacks is very rare and the opposite of the
normal perception. Macon the main character dies at the end by
getting shot by his own race, which he hated and felt they had evil
inside them. This novel shows you how people perceive each race
differently and each race is categorized in what type of music and they
listen to and how they dress up and the types of clothing they wear.

Avedikian

Work Cited
Adam Mansbach. Angry Black White Boy. Three Rivers Press. 2004
Nathaniel Rich. Angry Black White Boy: The Way I AM. March 6, 2005.
Juan F. Perea. The Normal Science of American Racial Thought. 1997.
Page 127.

Avedikian

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