Trick Baby felt different than the other noir texts we have read this semester, primarily, as we discussed, due to the fact that the darkness was completely in our face. We did not need to go looking for it, and there was no way to avoid it. The whole book dripped with the darkness of Chicago, leaving your hands dirty after you set it down. You could not avoid it, and reading it felt voyeuristic. However, I did enjoy it. Our texts frequently watch the decent into darkness and stop right when they get there, but I want to see what it is like in this darkness. What happens to a character completely born and raised in this darkness? What do they look like compared to one that stumbled into this world?
White Folks was not what I expected of a man born in the darkness. He loved his mom, adored his grandma, looked up to Blue and refused to leave him behind even after learning the real reasons Blue took him on as an apprentice. He was not quite innocent, but not cynical like I expected. He still had compassion for people, trying to protect Midge even though he views her as a freak. There was a comment in class about how someone started with a list of what they thought noir was and the list keeps getting shorter, and I feel the exact same way. I crossed cynical off the list because White Folks has a plan for escape and cares about his people. He does not sacrifice bodies for his gain. I am not sure what is left on my list besides a vague “darkness” at this point. Without the decent, mystery, and cynicism, I am left confused on how to think about this genre. What connects these characters and how do I view them in light of each other?