For all the books we have read this year we have been encouraged to "give ourselves over to a new world". Claudia Rankine's Citizen places readers in the new world with an opening scenario of laziness: too tired to look at a phone, a nest of blankets, and dark surroundings. Her use of second person also helps. What I have trouble with is reading the blend of prose and poetry. I feel that each sentence can be open to multiple interpretations.
This paragraph stood out to me,
"...The body is the threshold across which each objectionable call passes into consciousness-all the unintimidated, unblinking, and unflappable resilience does not erase the moments lived through, even as we are eternally stupid or everlastingly optimistic, so ready to be inside, among, a part of the games" (28).
I noticed the contrast of heaviness or physicality, with lightness or the soul. This paragraph is in the middle of the Serena story, which is an example of Claudia's writing style. She focuses on a specific moment and then zooms out to wider ideas. The word "we" is multi-dimensional in that I believe it's referring to all African Americans in society and also specifically the Williams sisters. The phrase, "eternally stupid or everlastingly optimistic, so ready to be inside, among, a part of the games" made me think of how far the country has come in equality but how much it still needs to improve. The word "games" is also specifically about tennis but also the justice system of society. I am looking forward to reading more of Citizen to perhaps deepen my experience. It is a tough read, but definitely worthwhile.
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