{"id":340,"date":"2022-12-01T14:56:57","date_gmt":"2022-12-01T19:56:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/blacknoir\/?p=340"},"modified":"2022-12-01T14:56:58","modified_gmt":"2022-12-01T19:56:58","slug":"one-last-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/blacknoir\/2022\/12\/01\/one-last-post\/","title":{"rendered":"One Last Post!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If all 8 of our texts we read this semester were laid out in front of me before I ever took this course, I think I would be able to connect all of them together with common themes. They all retain a sense of nostalgia and pre modern age language (even Devil in a Blue Dress <\/em>and Blanche on the Lam <\/em>feel to me as though the are still set in the 60\u2019s), focus on race and sexuality, and include a fair share of violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, prior to taking this class, if you had asked me to provide 8 texts that fell under the Umbrella of \u201cBlack Noir,\u201d I\u2019m not sure I would have produced the ones we read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After taking this class, I\u2019m still unsure if all the novels fall under this umbrella. To me, we started of with a clear shell of what Noir was, then dove into what Black Noir is by focusing on Black characters like Hugh and Bob. I feel as though we drifted from what Black Noir is in the middle of our semester, then returned back to the Noir novel with Blanche on the Lam <\/em>and Devil in a Blue Dress<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While, as we all probably know by now, I did not like Trick Baby <\/em>and Never Die Alone <\/em>nearly as much as the other novels, this is not the only reason why I have trouble considering them Noir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I still think that in my definition of Noir, there has to be some sense of mystery, especially through a fictitious story. Our readers must piece things together and must figure things out as we go to connect to this feeling of \u201cdescending into darkness.\u201d I think Noir is not just about a descent as the characters in our books go to extremes, face increasing violence, and avoid the law, but also about the opposite; Noir is also about a reader coming to the light as the truth is illuminated to them. In The Maltese Falcon, Farewell my Lovely, Blanche on the Lam<\/em>, and Devil in a Blue Dress<\/em>, readers ascend into the light of truth as they discover who the true murderers were and move past the point of conflict. However, in Trick Baby <\/em>and Never Die Alone<\/em>, conflict is only resolved after our characters make a choice\u2014such as Paul donating the money\u2014as opposed to them uncovering something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the help of Street Players<\/em>, I think I would most link Trick Baby <\/em>and Never Die Alone <\/em>to Black Pulp Fiction. The stories are too autobiographical and too straightforward for me to consider the Black Noir. However, I am still glad we read them and feel as though they exposed me to topics I\u2019ve never encountered before at this level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something else that I think this class helped me do is realize how fast I can read if I really want to. My mom always asks me, \u201cWhat are you reading?\u201d every time I come back for break, and usually I reply, \u201cI\u2019m too busy to read.\u201d My love for literature has never ceased, but my free time spent reading has decreased exponentially as I entered high school. Hopefully now I will realize that I can finish books more rapidly than I expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, I think this class was extremely crucial for me to take. I like that I took it as my first English elective so that I can be reminded how much I love to read fiction and to analyze. While others might see Brit Lit 1 or Exploring Shakespeare as more important courses, I think Black Noir is equally significant as it tells the story of the Other.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If all 8 of our texts we read this semester were laid out in front of me before I ever took this course, I think I would be able to connect all of them together with common themes. They all retain a sense of nostalgia and pre modern age language (even Devil in a Blue … Continue reading “One Last Post!”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4361,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/blacknoir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/blacknoir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/blacknoir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/blacknoir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4361"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/blacknoir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=340"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/blacknoir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":341,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/blacknoir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340\/revisions\/341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/blacknoir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/blacknoir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/blacknoir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}