The Nickel Boys

by

Colson Whitehead

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The Nickel Boys: Chapter Two Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Elwood leaves behind another game when he stops going to the Richmond Hotel. When he wasn’t reading comic books or drying dishes, he used to peer into the dining room as the kitchen doors swung open and closed, and he would make bets with himself about whether or not there would be a black customer at one of the tables. He knows that the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education dictated that all schools must desegregate, so he thinks that all forms of segregation will soon crumble. Still, he never saw a black person sitting in the Richmond dining room. Addressing this fact, his grandmother tells him that the world isn’t going to immediately change, explaining that telling people to do the right thing doesn’t mean they’ll actually do it. Still, Elwood remains optimistic about the prospect of desegregation.
That Elwood maintains hope about the chances of true desegregation is worth noting, since it provides insight into how he approaches adversity. Rather than feeling completely defeated about the fact that no African American people ever come into the Richmond, he chooses to remain hopeful about the future. Although his grandmother insists that rules and reality often don’t accord with one another, Elwood refuses to believe that the world will continue to be an unjust place forever.
Themes
Unity, Support, and Hope Theme Icon
Civil Rights, Dignity, and Sacrifice Theme Icon
Quotes
After he stops going to the Richmond with his grandmother, Elwood gets a job at Mr. Marconi’s cigar shop. Mr. Marconi is a white Italian American man who originally set up his store during World War II in the African American part of Frenchtown because it was close to a military base. This meant that black soldiers would come to the area on weekends and buy large amounts of tobacco and condoms, proving to Mr. Marconi that he was right to think that breaking the rules of segregation could be profitable. After the war, though, he moved his cigars to the back of the store and started carrying comic books, candy, and soda, wanting to make the establishment more family friendly. Around this time, he hired a young black man to help him run the store. When this position opens up, Elwood fills it. 
Although Elwood has just experienced discouragement after discovering that his encyclopedias are blank, he doesn’t let this shake his belief that hard work leads to good things. Accordingly, he gets a job at Mr. Marconi’s cigar shop. Furthermore, it makes sense that he would want to work with Mr. Marconi, who seems to care more about hard work than about race, as evidenced by his willingness to hire Elwood and his decision to set up his shop in an African American part of town.
Themes
Power, Fear, and Upward Mobility Theme Icon
Elwood’s grandmother doesn’t mind the idea of Elwood working with Mr. Marconi , since he seems like a good person and Elwood gives her half of every paycheck. He puts the other half toward a college fund, something that overjoys his grandmother, since nobody in her family has ever gone to college. Elwood quickly proves himself to be a diligent and conscientious employee, tidying up the shop and making sure it runs efficiently. When it’s slow, he spends his time reading the magazine Life, in which he learns about the Civil Rights Movement and sees  pictures of protestors, whom he views as heroes.
Again, it becomes clear that Elwood still believes in the value of hard work. As he diligently applies himself to his job at Mr. Marconi’s shop, he invests himself in the idea that his efforts will lead to some kind of upward mobility—a belief underlined by the fact that he saves half of each paycheck for college. It is this kind of hope, it seems, that also fuels his interest in the Civil Rights Movement, since he doesn’t hesitate to believe in the movement’s ability to bring about meaningful change.
Themes
Unity, Support, and Hope Theme Icon
Civil Rights, Dignity, and Sacrifice Theme Icon
Power, Fear, and Upward Mobility Theme Icon
Mr. Marconi likes having Elwood as an employee, since Elwood is hardworking and helps him interact with the shop’s African American customers. However, he also thinks the boy doesn’t know when to let things slide. This becomes evident when Elwood catches two boys from his neighborhood trying to steal candy. Mr. Marconi, for his part, doesn’t particularly mind when children steal from his store, thinking that this is simply part of the cost of doing business. According to Marconi, chasing children out of his store over stolen candy will make it less likely that their parents will shop there, since they’ll be embarrassed. Because of this mindset, then, Mr. Marconi is startled when Elwood says, “Put it back,” one day when two boys are shoplifting.
By this point, it’s evident that Elwood is a deeply principled young man. If he believes something is wrong, he will speak out, which is exactly what he does when he sees two boys shoplifting from Mr. Marconi’s store. And though this is an admirable trait, it’s worth noting Marconi’s belief that Elwood sometimes doesn’t know when to let go of something. After all, readers know that Elwood eventually ends up in a reform school, so the fact that he can’t quite manage to stay out of certain kinds of confrontation seems rather foreboding.
Themes
Civil Rights, Dignity, and Sacrifice Theme Icon
Power, Fear, and Upward Mobility Theme Icon
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Elwood has known the two shoplifters for his entire life and he even used to play with them when he was a boy, before his grandmother decided that they’re too badly behaved for her grandson. When they hear him tell them to put back the candy, they obey and then angrily leave the store. That night, they spring out at Elwood as he rides his bike home. They give him a thorough beating and tell him he needs to be taught a lesson. During the beating, they say that he doesn’t have any sense, and Elwood inwardly acknowledges that this might be true. He has often felt that he doesn’t have any common sense, but At Zion Hill has finally given him the “language” to understand why, exactly, he’s sometimes willing to do things that go against his better judgment. 
The “language” that Martin Luther King At Zion Hill gives Elwood is moralistic and principled. Having taken Dr. King’s words to heart, Elwood feels as if he can’t stand idly by and watch things that go against his morals. Instead, he feels compelled to speak out, even when it puts him in danger. This is why he told the shoplifters to replace the stolen candy, knowing all the while that doing so might bring trouble his way.
Themes
Civil Rights, Dignity, and Sacrifice Theme Icon
Power, Fear, and Upward Mobility Theme Icon
Quotes
Thinking about At Zion Hill, Elwood considers Dr. King’s words. “We must believe in our souls that we are somebody, that we are significant, that we are worthful, and we must walk the streets of life every day with this sense of dignity and this sense of somebody-ness,” Dr. King declares. This idea makes sense to Elwood, and he decides to adopt a “sense of dignity,” one that enables him to believe in himself. In keeping with this, he wonders how he could possibly explain to the shoplifters that he takes their poor behavior as a personal insult. After all, he feels as if he’d be going against his own dignity if he were to stand idly by while they stole.
Here Whitehead clarifies how, exactly, At Zion Hill has affected Elwood. By helping him cultivate a sense of self-worth, the record instills in him the desire to protect his own “dignity.” To do this, he must oppose anything that might undermine his self-image. In turn, he feels compelled to stop his peers from stealing, believing that it’s his moral obligation to do so. Once again, then, readers see the strength of Elwood’s convictions, which force him to follow his moral compass regardless of the circumstances. 
Themes
Civil Rights, Dignity, and Sacrifice Theme Icon