Nickel Boys Storyboard
Storyboard Text
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- “ We must believe in our souls that we are somebody, that we are significant, that we are worthful, and we must walk the streets of life every day with this sense of dignity and this sense of somebody-ness,”- Martin Luther King Jr.
- What kind of person are they?Elwood Curtis is a studious, hard-working, determined, and passionate, African American teenager; but above all else he is an activist who follows the ideals of Martin Luther King Jr. He has the confidence to stand up for himself in times of injustice due to the "sense of dignity" MLK speaks about in his Zion Hill Record. He's also very optimistic when it comes to looking at what the future has to hold. He takes the small victories of his life and uses them to keep pushing even when it gets hard.
- What actions do they take?As a result of Elwood's interest in MLK and the Civil Rights Era his teacher Mr. Hill encourages him to take a class at the nearby community college. In Elwood's efforts to further his education he hitchhikes with a fellow African American gentlemen in order to make it to his first day of the college class after his bike breaks on the way. Unfortunately, the pair are pulled over and the car is revealed to be a stolen vehicle. Elwood is wrongfully accused of being apart of the crime and arrested at the scene even though he knew nothing about the vehicles status.
- "It's not like the old days," Elwood said. "We can stand up for ourselves."
- "It's not an obstacle course," he said. You can't go around it—you have to go through it. Walk with your head up no matter what they throw at you."
- Where have they been?After Curtis is wrongfully convicted he is sent away to Nickel Academy as his sentencing. From the outside Elwood feels that the Academy embodies the structure and upkeep of a regular school, but he is in for a rude awakening. In reality he's been sent to a segregated reform school that is physically, mentally, and sexually abusive. They are not provided with stable education, but instead are put to work with daily grueling tasks. Failure to complete the task or comply with the rules results in unimaginable punishments that can go on for elongated periods of time.
- What is something the character can not do?Elwood's attitude towards standing up for injustice and demanding respect for himself and others doesn't go over so well for him in the academy. On his first night there he attempts to protect one of the younger boys from getting bullied, but instead of being praised for his efforts to defuse the situation he becomes just as responsible as the other boys involved. Later in the evening the boys are taken and given brutal beatings that end up leaving Elwood in the school infirmary for weeks. After this whole ordeal he's given advice by a boy named Turner to just do what's asked of him and stay low in order to prevent this from happening again. He doesn't like the idea because he feels like it goes against the "sense of dignity" he has instilled in himself, but for the sake of his survival he understands that it's best to just play the role he's being asked to play and cut out the heroic act.
- What are some key things they say?Two key things that Elwood Curtis says are both statements he says to Turner, his closest companion while in Nickel Academy. While the pair are talking about getting justice for their situation Elwood states, '"It's not like the old days," Elwood said. "We can stand up for ourselves"' (Whitehead 106). Turner believes that there's no hope in trying to free themselves because things are just the way they are and nobody cares if it's wrong or right. Curtis on the other hand explains to him that just because that's how it's been doesn't mean that's how it has to continue because it's a new era and they have the outlets in order to make things right. In another situation where Curtis is beginning to take action in order to gain his freedom he has to reassure Turner that there is hope and a way to get through their struggles by stating, '"It's not an obstacle course," he said. You can't go around it—you have to go through it. Walk with your head up no matter what they throw at you"' (Whitehead 218). Turner keeps viewing all of Elwood's actions as stupid because he's not taking the easy way out and just abiding by the rules. Elwood sees this as rolling with the punches and doing what he had to do in order to survive and make it out by any means necessary.
- What effects do they have on others?Elwood Curtis' effects on other was more effective after his death than when he was alive, for Turner specifically. Curtis' death changed Turners life in numerous ways. He was of course effected by the trauma and survivors guilt that came with witnessing your best friend be killed in front of you and still continuing to save yourself. He also ended up taking the name Elwood Curtis as his own to pay tribute towards his late friend. The collective PTSD and lack of closure allows for the tortures of Nickel Academy and the tragedy of his deceased friend to follow him all throughout his life.
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