Due Feb. 26th by 11:59pm. 200-400 words.
Not Sidney has a series of would-be-mentors in Betty (the
raving socialist addicted to fast food), Ted Turner, Raymond (karate
instructor), Percival Everett (college professor who teaches a course in
nothing/meaninglessness), the ghost of his mother, and perhaps even the
teachings of Mesmer. How does the
mentor/mentee relationship work in this novel, and what might Everett be saying
about such relationships?
Throughout the novel, Sidney meets many people who become his mentors, but the two most prevalent would be Ted Turner and Percival Everett. Both Turner and Everett speak in extreme absurdities, often spewing nonsense that even Not Sidney can't make sense of. Ted Turner can’t ever seem to simply answer questions, and always goes off on nonsensical, random tangents that have nothing to do with the conversation or Not Sidney’s concerns. Everett, on the other hand, simply spews nonsense. He also acts in an absurd manner, especially in the example where he asks Not Sidney to go to his house and bring doughnuts with sprinkles only to claim that he can’t eat them himself and that Not Sidney should take them and eat them. In this way the reader develops something of a love/hate relationship with Not Sidney’s chosen mentors, as it’s fortunate that they’re around listening but unfortunate because they seem so unreliable for advice
ReplyDeleteHowever, there is a specific mentor/mentee relationship in this novel, in that Not Sidney frequently seeks them out for advice. One specific example is when Not Sidney calls Percival Everett to ask if he should go back to college. Not Sidney is expecting Everett, as a professor, to give insightful, worldly advice about an education and a degree and whatnot. However, Everett provides the exact opposite in turning the question around and truly giving no real advice whatsoever. I believe in this way that Everett is trying to portray mentors as simply a way for the mentee to decide their own course. Not Sidney seeks out his mentors for advice multiple times, and they seldom ever actually advise, but push Not Sidney in the right direction so that he can make his own decisions.
In the first few chapters, Not Sydney Poitier met many people. By the time he is eleven years old he has already met two people that can be considered mentor material. They are Ted Turner, the old friend of his late mother, and Betty, his teacher at Ted Turner’s house. It’s is hard to say exactly how Percival Everett feels this early in the novel about the mentor and mentee relationship. At first I thought Ted Turner would be a money grubbing man, but he turned out to be quite nice, if a bit talkative. He actually takes Not Sydney in when his mother died. That’s a pretty considerate thing to do considering this book took place in the 80’s. People weren’t so accepting of black and white relationships back then. Also, Betty is a teacher who doubles as a socialist who loves to eat. Not Sydney seems to enjoy these peoples’ company a lot and considers them great sources of information for his education. The only problem is that he doesn’t know what is right and what is wrong. They both teach him things that aren’t exactly opinions of the general public. For example: Socialism? And Not just takes it all as true.
ReplyDelete-Duchuy Nguyen
Throughout the beginning of I am Not Sydney Poitier, Not Sydney grows close to a number of people who can be considered mentors. The mentor/mentee relationships in this novel show the author’s belief that we are left to figure things out on our own. This story is about identity, and Not Sydney's journey to figure out how he should live life. In the very beginning, after the passing of Not’s mother, he is taken to live with Ted Turner, who is the closest thing to a fatherly figure Not Sydney has in his life. Even so, their relationship is far from that of a father and son. Ted acts as more of a reliable neighbor and friend. Every attempt Ted and Not make to establish a deeper connection is foiled by Ted’s random and eccentric thoughts. For example, Ted asks if Not ever gets lonely on his side of the mansion, but before Not even has time to answer the question, Teds begins to rant about Italian shoes. In the case of Raymond, Not’s karate teacher, he attempts to help Not Sydney defend himself, but ultimately, Not Sydney has to figure out himself how to combat, which he does by Fesmerizing. When Not Sydney goes to college, he grows close to a Professor Percival Everett, who teaches the philosophy of nonsense. The professor, just like Ted Turner, is more of a wild card, often rambling about random and useless information to Not when he asks for advice. These mentors are essentially encouraging Not Sydney to be different and find his own way by not telling him what to do, and not conform with the status quo. This is shown best when Percival tells Not, “Don’t be a sheep Mr. Poitier. Be anything, be a deer or a squirrel…be a panther or a sparrow, but don’t be a sheep. Promise me that.” This shows maybe that these mentors are letting Not become unique and like no one else by letting him discover himself without much guidance.
ReplyDeleteVery good. Spell his name correctly, though.
DeleteI Am Not Sidney Poitier the protagonist is faced with many challenges while growing up. Although his mother leaves him with money, he is orphaned after her death. He I constantly bullied as a child, and is faced with even greater adversities as he grows up. Not Sidney is arrested and even beaten because he is black. While traveling out of Atlanta, and into rural Georgia he is pulled over by a policeman. The policeman treats him like a criminal right away. Although he has committed no serious crime, the police is instantly suspicious because of the color of his skin. The officer uses racial slurs, and excessive force because he is a black man. He is also faced with this blatant racism when he meets his girlfriend’s parents. They do not approve of him because if their daughter marries him, their grandchildren will be dark. These scenes shows examples of the racial climate and segregation in America. Not Sidney is discriminated against because of his race, and for no other reason. In these scenes he has done nothing other then be black, and he is beaten and victimized because of it. It shows the irrationality and cruelty of racist attitudes in America. It also displays how large of a role race was. People in positions of authority, like the policeman, were openly racist. The dangers of having racist people in power are scene in the treatment of Not Sidney. It is important that this is displayed because racism was, and still is, a huge injustice in America.
ReplyDeleteLeah Camarillo
What does this have to do with mentors?
DeleteI believe that Everett is condemning and criticizing the mentor/mentee relationships through the first few chapters of the novel. The relationship is portrayed as very one-sided where the mentee is strongly taken advantage of for the personal fulfillment of the mentor. Let’s analyze of the relationships, for example between Not Sidney (Sid) and Betty. Betty preaches hear rhetoric to Sid, seemingly because nobody else will listen to her. This greatly boosts her self-esteem because all lunatics want to be listened to. We can infer that her self-esteem is probably low to begin with because of her food addiction, so she uses Sid as a therapeutic release from her insecurities. It doesn’t hurt that she gets paid to do it either. In return Sid learns about an impractical political view. This seems like an extremely unfair relationship.
ReplyDeleteLet's examine one more mentor/mentee relationshp presented in the novel, between Ted and Sid. Ted is a business mogul and billionaire, who has a distant marriage and more money than he knows what to do with. For such an important businessman, he spends an inproportionate time relaxing around his estate. His wife is presented as a vapid character so we can assume that she and Ted converse very little if at all. Therefore, Ted uses Sid as a backboard for every little idea that comes into his head. Everytime they talk, Ted is spilling over with information for Sid. In return for listening to Ted, Sid recieves very vague and unhelpful advice. Ted is basically using Sid for his listening ability, most likely because Ted has driven away all his other friends.
It is clear that early on, Everett takes a negative stance on the mentor/mentee relationship and shows how Sid becomes a victim because of it.
- Sean Roddy
Good start. Perhaps Everett's abstracting it further to claim we're all alone in the world, not matter the sense of community or parentage that comes with the mentor/mentee relationship.
Delete