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In the very last paragraph in the book, a character is referenced who now owns the diner (Blondie's) who used to read comic books at the Nickel institute. Which character is the author referring to?
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Kirbyp
Agree with the other answers that this passage refers to Elwood reading there while his grandmother worked. I wanted to add that it is especially poignant because (as per the earlier chapters) after the hotel was desegregated, the younger Elwood would look in the restaurant every day to see if there were any black patrons there yet, and each time he was disappointed to see that, despite the new rules, there weren't.
Charles Bellavia
I liked how the 'white' waitress says to him, "Sit anywhere". A fitting sign of hope.
Sean
I don't think there's any debate here. the reference is to a young Elwood, who would peak out to see if there are any proud Blacks in the segregated dining room.
I thought it was a touching ending with some powerful symbolism. Elwood represents the optimistic Black Experience, the thought that Blacks could find equal footing (hence his attachment to the MLK speech). Turner on the other hand was much more negative about America changing; Turner sought to manipulate what he perceived as a rigged system.
At first, I took Elwood's death to represent the author saying "Look America! the Black experience will never change, so the optimistic character was killed off"
but the ending turns that on his head. we see the hopes of a young Elwood fulfilled in that a proud black man now sits in the diner, waiting to be served. Yet, then there's a twist to a twist, as Turner is so beaten down by his life as a black man, that he simply just wants to eat a hot lunch, not remembering that Elwood told him of this very restaurant.
I thought it was a touching ending with some powerful symbolism. Elwood represents the optimistic Black Experience, the thought that Blacks could find equal footing (hence his attachment to the MLK speech). Turner on the other hand was much more negative about America changing; Turner sought to manipulate what he perceived as a rigged system.
At first, I took Elwood's death to represent the author saying "Look America! the Black experience will never change, so the optimistic character was killed off"
but the ending turns that on his head. we see the hopes of a young Elwood fulfilled in that a proud black man now sits in the diner, waiting to be served. Yet, then there's a twist to a twist, as Turner is so beaten down by his life as a black man, that he simply just wants to eat a hot lunch, not remembering that Elwood told him of this very restaurant.
Karen Davis Engelbert
Elwood's grandmother worked at the Richmond Hotel and Elwood read comic books there while she worked. He was offered a job there as a porter when he was old enough, but he didn't want to be a 4th generation employee, so he took the job at the tobacco shop instead.
Lynette Burnett
Elwood Curtis. Doesn’t say he owned the diner just that Blondie’s used to be the Richmond Hotel.
Jason Luz
Why would Turner forget the name he assumed his entire adult life, the reason for this trip and the stay in this hotel. We know that the boy referenced is indeed Elwood. In the opening of the book we learned that Elwood became a mascot for the kitchen staff. Perhaps "Blondie" was an ironic nickname, one of the many comic books he read. Perhaps the restaurant is now owned by someone from that earlier kitchen staff, the kinder crew before it turned over to that crueler staff that tricked the boy into competing for the blank encyclopedias. In any case, it's a sweet closing twist of fate, the old man that represents what Elwood could have been inadvertently meets the dreaming, still unsullied boy.
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