Challenging Complacency: Elwood Curtis and the Fight for Justice in “The Nickel Boys”

By Victoria Tran 

Colson Whitehead wrote “The Nickel Boys” to illustrate that progress never comes from complacency. Using the inner thoughts of the character Elwood Curtis, allusions to Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches, and the use of Elwood as a foil to Turner, a boy he meets at Nickel Academy. Whitehead calls on these techniques to underscore the urgency of action and resistance in confronting systemic injustice. Elwood’s thought process reveals disdain for those who are passive in the face of oppression, as he sees this as being compliant. He reflects on his position in Nickel Academy, a boys reformatory school he was wrongly sent to, noting that “if everyone looks the other way, then everybody’s in on it. If I look the other way, I’mas implicated as the rest.” This narration in Elwood’s mind shows us his moral convictions motivate him to rebel against the complacency Nickel Academy expects of their students. He sees silence and complacency as perpetuating violence and suffering. In another event, Elwood receives punishment for standing up for someone he thinks is being bullied but earns more lashes/a heavier punishment than those perpetuating the violence. He realizes, with Turner’s help, that standing against the corruption at Nickel will not help him get anywhere within it/help him avoid the systemic violence.

He tries to trust in the “ultimate decency” of humanity, writing to multiple newspapers to try to expose Nickel’s corruption. By contrasting Elwood’s active conscience and a strong sense of justice/positivity against the complacency of others, Whitehead shows us that Elwood’s motive to rebel against Nickel Academy perseveres to critique societal complacency. Whitehead additionally strengthens Elwood’s resolve and motivations by rooting his childhood and mindset through the words of Dr. King, who inspires him throughout the book and fuels many of his decisions to persevere despite the horrible things happening to him. Elwood clings to MLK’s emphasis on maintaining dignity and sticking to non-violent resistance, as Elwood often recalls him saying, “We must believe in our souls that we are somebody… and walk the streets of life every day with this sense of dignity.”

This allusion connects each of our personal struggles to the broader struggle for equality. Elwood takes this message from MLK in the same way. He resists Nickel Academy’s efforts to silence him as another troubled teenage boy as he sees the violence against him as not something that just happens to everyone there. When the violence and brutality of Nickel eventually wear him down, he realizes his own quiet compliance with the “status quo” is a form of defeat.

He thinks about MLK’s critique in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, believing that those who have become so “complacent and sleepy after years of oppression that they had adjusted to it and learned to sleep in it as their only bed.”

Elwood’s character works to contrast Turner during the novel’s beginning to illustrate Whitehead’s call to counter complacency. Turner is meant to embody prioritizing survival through silence and complacency. He thinks blending in with the other complacent students at Nickel is the only viable way to survive. He advises Elwood to stay quiet to stay out of trouble, but Elwood’s actions show he is unwilling to betray his principles of justice. Turner’s always telling Elwood he did nothing for him whenever he helps him rebel shows us his self-preserving motivation, contrasting him from Elwood’s strong morals. Whitehead has this relationship reveal that fear and passivity are two main obstructions to progress. Action, on the other hand, however hopeless it seems, is essential to start change. Because Elwood persists against complacency anyway and influences Turner to assist him, he is influencing him to make a difference. Although Elwood dies before he sees it, his dream of seeing an African American as a customer in the hotel restaurant whose kitchen he used to sit in is achieved through Turner, with the latter character speaking the truth about what Nickel did to its black boys. Turner has adopted Elwood’s motivation as a tribute to him.

Elwood’s journey has many parallels to the broader struggle many African Americans faced during the Civil Rights Movement. Another way this struggle is depicted is through Elwood’s willingness to get involved in activism, contrasting his grandmother’s cautious approach. She valued survival, hence her complacency not to get involved in the Civil Rights Movement unless she had to (as she only boycotted buses during the bus boycotts because others in her community would judge her if she didn’t boycott buses with them). She punishes him for going against her word when he goes to the protest outside of the Florida Theatre; however, the fact that Elwood is still glad he went speaks volumes about the importance of action to him. She represents the caution many African Americans used to stay complacent and silent to avoid the inevitable violence and injustice that would befall them if they spoke out about the mistreatment they faced. Elwood, though, represents the need for many African Americans during that time to stand up for themselves to gain their deserved rights. His hope and positivity speak to the Civil Rights movement, as he believes that one day, things will change for the better.

The book’s ending depicts this as Elwood, despite dying, has changed Turner’s life by influencing him to live how Elwood would want him to live. We can thus conclude that one must be actively against complacency because true progress comes from resilience, action, and commitment to morality even if someone may never see what his/her efforts amount to.