In part four of the book Heavy, we see Laymon and his mother face difficult times as his mother struggles with her gambling addiction in the casinos, Laymon also begins to gain a new perspective as he reflects on his life from the past to where he is now. In this section we see many struggles that not many would expect Laymon to have as he grows and the book gets deeper. That is what stands out the most for me is the authenticity that he replicates through writing his truths. He faces obstacles with his weight gaining and losing, along with the system he feeds into with his job at Vassar University, and gambling. In a conversation/writing to his mother he says “If we fall, give us a chance to fall honestly, compassionately together.” (Laymon 239). When reading this at the end of the book I felt a sense of union from these words. Kiese understands that life comes with struggles and being a black family in this nation comes with problems that are out of their control sometimes. This is an important factor in the book because we see Kiese rebuilding or even building this new trust and relationship with his mother telling her that they have to be break this system but understanding it won’t change the past but they must move on from it.
Author Archives: Panagiotis Krampis
Heavy Part Three: A Personal Journey
In part three of Heavy, we come to find that these times are vital to Laymon’s personal growth and future. In part three as Kiese begins college and his mother goes away for work he develops a freedom that causes him to make choices that affect his life tremendously. We see how he tries to find himself through his struggles and his reaction to them. As Laymon tries to create this image of being fantastic/perfect he leads himself into a difficult position of trying to fit in with the white folks or be even better. Laymon tries to fight his problems with food, specifically cakes. He faces obstacles that are out of his control such as being accused of plagiarism and being in Laymon’s position trying to prove his worth, understanding how life and society can only get worse makes him feel frustrated and hopeless which is why he turns to certain addictions liking eating we see these when he says “Cakes never fought back.”(Laymon 123). In this expression that he gives we see that he finds a sense of comfort, privacy and safety, this is important for Laymon because it explains how he gets attached to foods and and his perception of them because the he feels like the world is against him and that the odds to be successful or pursue a healthy lifetstyle seem impossible. As the section continues we see Laymon trying to break boundaries and discover who he is and this leads him to be authentic in a newspaper speaking out on the racism that occurs at Millsaps College. This spirals into other problems which only make Laymons situation more difficult as he is threatened and told by his own mother not to write those things even though she knows what he is experiencing or writing true which puts Laymon in a state of conflict with his decisions. We see true growth from Laymon as he decides to start exercising to get in better shape. This along with his writing are two major factors that help him on his journey to understanding who he is and who he wants to become. Kiese takes a lot of initiative in this section as he becomes older and more independent and we see how this cause of events shape him to become the man he is.
Heavy Part Two: A New Passion
In part two of the book Heavy, the section called Gumption we see how Kiese’s writing is influenced. “I didn’t understand the differences between “writing to” and “writing for” anyone.”(Laymon 106). When he referenced Ms. Walker’s speech he took notice of these four words that he quoted. He kept coming back to those words in his head trying to make sense of them. This influenced his writing because we see the determination in Laymon to try and understand how he could write to and for his people with his work. This is a big step in his direction of becoming a writer and plays a heavy role. The understanding of writing to and for his people helped shaped this book through talking about his life experiences so he can connect to his community and help other outside of it understand what it’s like.
Heavy Part One: Grandma’s Duty
In part one of the book Heavy, there is a section called Be. In this section Laymon encounters a Mumford boy. The boy offers Kiese to shoot squirrels with him but Kiese tells him how he’s not allowed to shoot. After Kiese told his grandma about what the Mumford boy had told him she said to him “These white folk, they liable to have us locked up under the jail Kie.”(Laymon 52). This is a significant part in the book because his grandma explains the power of the Mumford’s and other people like them. This helps Kiese understand what place he’s in and how he could be seen by these people which is nothing more than a threat. He leads on by talking about stealing their food and he has to be reminded of why he can’t do that. This part of the section caught my eye because it was the first piece of writing I had read by Laymon in the beginning of the year which gravitated me towards reading Heavy.
“Heavy” from a first point of view
In an interview with Kiese Laymon at the Chicago Humanities Festival, Laymon discusses the book with the interviewer in front of an audience. This interview was recorded as a video and posted on YouTube by the Chicago Humanities Festival account labeled Kiese Laymon: Heavy. Throughout the interview Laymon is asked specific questions that help the readers understand why he wrote the book, the style that he wrote the book in, who he is writing the book for, and the reason behind the book being called Heavy. Kiese also talks about the rigorous process of writing the book because he had put his family and himself in a difficult position to be honest with the public. At some point he reads an excerpt from the book which was very emotional for him because it talks about him stealing food and his mom not questioning how he got it but thanking him for it. Based on his reaction in the video, I believe this was an important moment in the interview because we see the impact it has on him. I find this source to be extremely reliable because it is a primary source since Kiese, the author himself, is explaining the book. Since the interview is also shown on camera we see how he expresses himself talking about certain moments in the book which helps the audience see the authenticity of the book and the true emotion behind it.
YouTube. (2018). Kiese Laymon: Heavy. YouTube. Retrieved September 13, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm_lJD-Iybg.
New Year, New Goals
Dear class,
Every school year I try to achieve new goals and create expectations for myself even though they could sometimes seem close to impossible, these goals can be academic and/or social. Starting my second year, not only do I expect my writing to improve, but to mature and become more knowledgeable as I continue to grow through my college journey. Some of my goals are to improve as a writer and analyst through the different books, excerpts and stories that we read and write about. I expect myself to also engage in the other aspects of writing such as preparation, organization, and time management. These are things I have struggled with in the past and I hope that I can change that in this new school year.
A major goal of mine is to create new relationships with my peers and engage in as many class and group discussions possible. I expect my classmates to be helpful when sharing work but also honest. As a peer I would like to hear the constructive criticism someone else would like to offer as long as it comes with good intention. Although this may sound like a lot, I will do my best to be hold myself to the same standards and expectations.
Although I am only in my second year, I haven’t had the best experience with my previous English professors. From the first day I entered class, they would try to come off intimidating, and they provided no help when it was severely needed. After that I experience I was nervous about taking this class, but from the first three classes alone my mindset automatically shifted to how I think about English. I know the work can be rigorous but I expect my professor this semester to be someone who is understanding, patient, and most of all, for the students.
Sincerely,
Panagiotis Krampis
