The White Boy SHuffle by Paul Beatty

In The White Boy Shuffle by Paul Beatty, the main character, Gunnar Kaufman, constantly changes his dialect, in an attempt to blend in with his surroundings. For instance, while living in the predominately white neighborhood of Santa Monica, Gunnar speaks improper English, with a major emphasis on extending words, in order to be accepted by his friends. Yet, when he moves to the "ghetto" community of Hillside, he uses colloquial speech, in a vain and misplaced attempt to fit the black community's perception of him. Despite gaining the black and white communities acceptance through dif…