I have a dream
“Like the good Reverend King
I too “have a dream,”
But when I wake up
I forget it and
Remember I’m running late for work.”
The final words of Rölf
Kaufman linger in the reader’s ears as they finish the novel. Gunnar’s father
who has not played a significant role in his son’s life, or his audience’s
experience, for that matter, ends the novel so dramatically, leaving the reader
with a vague understanding of Beatty’s thesis. The Kaufmann family history is excessively
degrading but when told by Gunnar, has several humorous aspects that may cause
the reader to laugh. Laughter is an important theme of the novel, and the
question of whether Gunnar has continued the role as an entertainer as his
family lineage has predestined him to is prevalent
throughout the novel. Now it appears that for the first time, the audience has
an inside look into his father’s thoughts. His father works for the LAPD as a
police officer but also poses as a sort of reference for identifying criminals.
This brings to mind overdone assimilation and that he somehow accepts a lower
role in society. However, his last words, in the form of a poem, make the
reader wonder what he truly felt.
He claims that he too had a dream but was never able to make
it a reality because as soon as he woke up, he would forget. His son, Gunnar,
has now given him a solution to this problem. In his speech, he proclaims suicide as not only a viable but also a heroic
option. In a sense, Rölf
has eternalized his sleep by committing suicide and can now potentially pursue
his dream. The reader is not sure if this is the implication Beatty was
attempting to make. However, it is the prime reason for the spike in suicide
rates, by African Americans, in the novel. It seems that Scoby no longer has
the will to live as he is treated as an entertainer, god, and freak of nature.
Even when the attention was positive, he abhorred his fame and felt he was a
mascot, not a true human being. One of the suicide letters Gunnar received was
from a woman who had been asked to sing an African American spiritual because it was just assumed that she
would be talented and willing to sing.
The role of the entertainer is key throughout the novel, as
Gunnar seems to fulfill this position as much as he tries not to. Gunnar
resolves to pursue the one solution no one would have predicted, which at first
seems unproductive and futile. Suicide has always been framed as a means of
giving up or quitting. Now Gunnar says, let’s see how they, the white
oppressors, react when we don’t come into work the next day. What will they do
when all the black citizens of the United States disappear from one day to the
next? What kind of new hierarchy will be established then?
Great post Sarah! I thought it wa sinterestjnf how beatty decided to end the novel with the suicide and poem of Rölf, as we usually just see Rölf as the sellout horrible father. Beatty gives us a peek into the minds not only of Rölf, but I think of the other Kaufmans as well. Maybe if the house had heard Gunnar's message they took would've committed suicide. Maybe they weren't truly happy, but under the submissive facade, very miserable like Rölf.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Rölf Kaufman was probably taking the route outlined in Invisible Man about "undermining him with yeses", but he was just yesing them. In the end, he wanted to speak out but became disillusioned to revolution that he seemed to simply accept the status quo.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like Rölf Kaufman was probably someone with more of a commitment and more of an aspiration to help try to fix the racial issues in america, especially when compared to Gunnar. However, he did not have the same talents and privilege and so was unable to pursue his dream (unlike Gunnar whowanted to be a poet and was able to be one, and also lived Rölf Kaufman's dream).
ReplyDeleteI see Gunnar and Rölf as opposites. Gunnar is talented and things come to him naturally, while Rölf was less talented. Rölf however achieves his dream while Gunnar falls short. Gunnar likes to fight against the oppression while Rölf gives up but finds success.
ReplyDeleteNice post! You made me think about what Beatty is trying to do by framing the novel with Gunner's family. Throughout the book Beatty shows that it's not possible to change American society by conforming to it (maybe like the Kaufman's do but it also seems like they're just conforming and not trying to change it). I think by ending with Rölf's poem, Beatty presents an alternative of rejecting society or at least refusing to ignore its defects although he takes it to a drastic extreme with suicide.
ReplyDeleteI love the I have a dream analogy, especially with Rölf's permanent sleep being his way of remembering his dream. The role of the Kaufmans, atleast in terms of retelling family lineage, is for the readers & Gunnar's classmates' entertainment. While Rölf didn't seem to be for protesting, he just wanted to produce an "upstanding kaufman," the final poem gives us a little more to consider when thinking about Rölf as a character.
ReplyDelete