The part of the novel’s first 80 pages that stood out the most to me was the piece at the end, when Hominy makes himself the narrator’s slave and forces him to beat him. Hominy’s desire to be beaten, to be a slave, and ultimately the gratitude and relief that he feels during and following being beaten caused (and still do, to a large extent) a great deal of confusion. It did, however, remind me of the part in the Prologue wherein the narrator discusses how a black person at times is freed by the prospect of breaking the law and going to prison. The narrator says that actually doing something wrong “relieves us of the cognitive dissonance of being black and innocent” (18). Do you all think that this is somehow actually a similar situation? That by actually becoming someone’s slave, Hominy is in a way relieving himself of hidden shackles that come with black freedom? If not, can someone/anyone shed some light on Hominy’s motives behind this bizarre act?

The Sellout has an unnamed narrator which suggests that the messages conveyed in the book may be universal- however, the satirical style contradicts this theory. By using satire to exaggerate and ridicule, The Sellout establishes an outrageous storyline pointed at fostering discussion about race. The narrator may not be reliable so the reader is forced to interpret situations under his own conscience.