Using Satire as a Mode of Understanding the Grotesqueries of Racial Capitalism in George Schuyler’s Black No More

Abstract

This thesis examines the intersection of racial capitalism and Saidiya Hartman’s recent, racialized theorization of the grotesque in George Schuyler’s Black No More as a mode to understand Schuyler’s satire of the racialized incentives of capitalism. The novel imagines that race can be changed by a biotechnology and sold. I argue that the exaggerated use of satire identifies the critique Schuyler makes on capitalism present at the time of publication, which can also be seen in America today. Through an assessment of the text’s parodies on racial indeterminacy, the incentive of racial capitalism, notions of property versus progeny, and racial violence, I demonstrate the inherent connection between the economy and race. This connection can be seen in our society today proving that without race, the economy is thrust into chaos; nevertheless, society will always adapt to create new conceptions of racial hierarchy.