Laymon has just started going to college. He has more dedication to his academics now. In page 122, he stated that he spends nearly all day writing essays and not paying basketball with the other boys. It also stated that Laymon was accused of plagiarizing because of one word. The word was “Ambivalent” and it doesn’t really explain why they believed he plagiarized. On the next page it stated that black students were viewed as having less intellectual capability. My assumption was right, just because it is a big word, they assumed he copied the word or sentence. Another part of the story caught my eye. There are 2 neighborhoods. One being occupied by the ‘rich white liberals’ in the Millsaps neighborhood and the other one was a minority neighborhood with black people which is called the North End. The gates toward the black community was closed off while the gates were always open for the white community. Majority of the workers for the cafeteria or janitorial work were black men and women. This just goes to show that Laymon has witnessed segregation.

As I was reading Heavy, I realized that Laymon was exposed to such a sexual environment at such a young age. There was a part in the text that mentioned how Laymon saw Dougie and Delaney engaging in oral sex and they demanded that Laymon keep his mouth shut. They bribed him by saying that they’ll teach Laymon how to play chopsticks on the piano. Another event that took place was Laymon and Renata engaging in sexual acts. These events have been a changing point in Laymon’s life. He didn’t believe that any girl would find him attractive due to his weight.

When I first started reading the first few pages of Heavy, I noticed that he mentioned several times how he wanted to talk about lies. However, that wasn’t the case. Kiese Laymon delivered us an accurate story of his life from what he has experienced. He provided us with only truth by mentioning all the negative events he had to face when he told himself that all he wanted to write were lies.

 In the prologue, Laymon witnesses a man beating up a woman and him and his mom were trying to stop him. Furthermore, in the first chapter we read about his mom threatening him with the belt. I believe that sharing these negative events in his life was a way for Laymon to express his truthfulness in his writings. This book is a way to express black culture and give us insight of what really goes on in their lives since many people don’t really understand what it’s like to be black. His style of writing is more natural than professional. He wrote the book based on how he talks.  

Novel Sarker 

Professor Dalton

Eng 20100

September 21st, 2021

The author of Heavy, Kiese Laymon, has written many books and articles that revolve around race and how it affected him throughout his life. I am most interested in reading the book, “Heavy” because I believe that this book will talk about how Laymon grew up in such a racist environment, and he somehow overcame those impossible odds. It will also allow me to have a better understanding of what he went through from a personal perspective. Many articles I’ve read usually have a third person perspective. This would be an opportunity for me to read about an individual’s own life with racism and what he specifically had to deal with throughout his life. I’ve read about all the racial differences from the past but a memoir will acknowledge even the smallest details regarding racism. When we read Laymon’s other articles we get a sense of what his writings will be about. This is also an opportunity to learn the similarities between what we have going on in today’s world that revolves around racism and compare these real life events to the text. 

  The difference between a third person perspective and a first person perspective is that the author gains their information through sources and recounts historical events to back up their claim. First person experience recounts only what the author has been through and this memoir is all about that. I believe that the evidence that comes from Laymon will give me details I’ve never read before in articles or texts. In the story, ‘Quick Feet’, Laymon recounts events from his childhood with a white family whom his Grandma once cleaned the house for. I remember reading about his experience with the Mumford boy. The boy would make indirect statements and questions, such as ““Naw,” I told him. “My mama won’t let me shoot squirrels in the head. I’m not allowed to shoot guns. I’m good.”. “But all yall do is shoot guns in jackson ” (Quick Feet). This is an example of a personal perspective on racism and this part interested me into reading more from the book because the book should have similar instances.

Jennifer Key was an author who wrote a detailed review of Laymon’s memoir, Heavy. She stated that, “From his first sentence, Laymon establishes his intention to set the record straight on a complicated and compelling personal narrative. He is uninterested in creating a false sense of progress or improvement. Rather, he is driven by the pursuit of truth, no matter how devastating it may be.” (Key) This statement proves that not only is Laymon writing a personal and detailed review recounting his life, but also the truth and the truth only. Laymon has never brought up situations in the past and he believes that hiding that fragment of his life is wrong. “But the cost of concealing lies and living a split existence proves too steep for Laymon to keep burying the past. Heavy shows that keeping a tight reign on your secrets might give you the illusion of power when really it’s the secrets that control you. Laymon painstakingly narrates that quicksilver transition from being in control to being controlled” (Key) He has gained control over his past and his secrets and delivered them in his writings.

I believe that this book will answer many of my questions regarding racism and give me a new insight of what this man has dealt with in his past. It can be relatable to the situations I’ve faced in the past as a minority as well. Key’s article gave us a short summary of what to expect from the author of the book. I believe that this story is one of a kind and will keep me engaged.

J. Key, (12/18/2019) Heavy, by Kiese Laymon, Review https://muse.jhu.edu/article/743908/summary

This article talked about how the grandma felt about white people. She had a hatred for them considering how she did not want Kie to be friends or even speak to the white boy Mumford. The source I’ve analyzed is from a reporter from buzzfeed news who did a report regarding Kiese Laymon and his books. The source is titled “Kiese Laymon Knows His New Memoir Is Raw. But It’s Not Trauma Porn.” (Bim Adewunmi) She summarized Laymons early life and the accomplishments he’s made along with his career. In the article, the author write that Laymon expresses himself and his past through his writing. He opens up about his past and expresses all the issues he’s faced being a black man growing up. The memoir, “Heavy” holds all the answers to his past. This article helped me understand “Quick Feet’ because Laymon just wanted to be truthful about his life. He stated that “The world encourages (him) to lie, so in (his) writing, (he) wants to be truthful.” Growing up as a black southerner in the past is rough but the writings, especially ‘Heavy’ gives us answers as to how he’s overcome the struggles and his life there. I believe this source is reliable because Buzzfeed news used quotations from Laymon and included citations of other articles/pictures used.

Buzzfeed News, (October 15, 2018) Kiese Laymon Knows His New Memoir Is Raw. But It’s Not Trauma Porn, Bim Adewunmi | Article –https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/bimadewunmi/kiese-laymon-heavy-memoir-southern-writer

I was actually pretty late to enrolling for classes if I’m being honest. This class was thankfully available. I unfortunately was unable to attend the first two classes. However, I do expect this class to be fun and exciting in numerous ways. Reading and writing about social science is topic I can enjoy. I believe learning about our society and the social aspect of it can help us familiarize and experience the ongoing situations people face everyday such as racism, sexism, inequalities, and psychological aspects.

What I expect to get out of this class is the knowledge and critical information surrounding these topics so I can better understand what people go through and how our society functions.

PS: I posted this in the forum because I thought that’s how blog posts were done. My apologies.