" Now why do you reckon Bob's gone remind Solon of a plastic Jesus, colored child like he was and Jesus white as the day is long? Solon didn't claim to have no analytical mind, he just meant to pay the boy a compliment, if he wanted to take it that way. Seem like there was a song about plastic Jesus, won't they? Solon looked around in his head for the tune....Well sure, that was it. Bobo the Plastic Jesus, sho nuff. Solon wondered had anybody else ever noticed the resemblance." (169)
To me Nordan is alluding that Bobo is savior to the black race in this bit of Solon's inner dialogue. We have learned that it is Emmet Till's death that propels the civil rights movement into existence, ushering in a new fight for freedom for blacks all across the country. His death was a wake up call to both black and whites to the insanity of the social situation in the country. The song Solon remembers sings of the plastic Jesus resting on the dashboard of the car, an instrument used to signify hope. Nordan is stating that Bobo's horrific death is, in an paradoxical way, a beginning of hope for the black people of America.
The song "Plastic Jesu" itself is fitting to the blog as it is "southern" in feel,. Here in the video it is played by Paul Newman on a banjo, in the film Cool Hand Luke. Newman's character seems to be in a time of despair, so it is fitting for this portion of the book as well.
Q: Am I right about the symbolization or is this just Solon being his normal bogus self?
I agree wholeheartedly with your interpretation of this passage. Emmett Till's death served to catapult the civil rights movement into the forefront of American thought and consciousness. Nordan's comparison of Bobo to Jesus allows Bobo to serve as a symbol of progress and hope for the African American community of that time. His death, then, serves to alert others of the rampant injustice present in society.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting, then, that Nordan chose to have Bobo capable of seeing things taking place even after his death. At first it didn't make sense to me, but now, I believe it is Nordan's way of taking the parallel between Bobo and god a step farther. With his all-seeing eye (which may be compared to the eye of providence), Bobo becomes and omniscient being who watches over the fate of humankind and the events that happen to get things moving in the direction of progress.
My question is: why do you think Nordan chose to give Bobo this all-seeing power and why did he choose to take away this power when he did?