Black Buck

“Each and every one of these people was selling something more precious than gold: a vision. A vision for what the world could look like if millions of people were to change their minds—the hardest thing to change.

Askaripour here introduces the idea that “selling” is more than just an economic exchange of money for goods and services. Rather, selling involves rhetoric of persuasion, challenging the seller to use language to change someone’s perspective or intervene in the ideology that grounds their worldview.

“But freedom, true freedom, the kind where you do what you want without fear, comes at a cost […] I can give you the tools to change, but only you can change yourself.”

This quote connects the idea of selling to liberation and self-development. Salesmanship yields more than material success; it brings “freedom.” However, individuals must opt in to achieve the success that Darren claims his teaching can produce. Darren’s rhetoric of salesmanship as a path to freedom aligns him, in some ways, with motivational speakers such as Tony Robbins, most notably, who proclaim that they have a proven path to personal growth and financial success. However, the themes of racism and white supremacy and the allusions to slavery in the novel make its references to “freedom” far more fraught with meaning than in an ordinary self-help book.

“And if I am successful in teaching you how to sell and fix the game, I ask that you buy another copy of my book and give it to the friend who needs it most […] Does that sound fair? If so, […] then we have a deal.”

Here, Askaripour models successful sales formulas that various characters discuss and deploy throughout the book. Such a direct address to the reader breaks down the fourth wall separating the world that the characters inhabit from the one the readers inhabit. Askaripour goes so far as to reference the price of the book itself, highlighting its status as a commodity being bought and sold, while further suggesting that there is no real border between reader and character. Askaripour’s blurring of the boundaries between fiction and self-development provides a challenge to the reader, who must decide whether to take the word of the “author” of the Author’s Note, “Buck,” or maintain a critical distance from the text and approach it as only fiction.

“The quality of an answer is determined by the quality of the question.”

In addition to being a pithy nugget of Wally Cat-derived wisdom, this quote broaches the notion that taking the risk of asking is the first step of selling, and that questioning the status quo is the first step in achieving opportunities that lie beyond the boundaries that currently define one’s life.

“A vision for the future. I sell people on the opportunity to live their lives to the fullest, and I’ll tell you, people will pay an absolute fortune for that. But beyond that, what we do up there […] is help people. We’re changing the world through what we do, making a positive impact, and having a blast while doing it.”

Rhett’s rhetoric about customers achieving fulfillment by virtue of using the Sumwun service is combined with the idea that self-help pays. The idea that the business helps people and changes the world, while simultaneously providing a fun work environment and great financial rewards for its employees, whitewashes the primary motivation behind Sumwun—ever-increasing financial growth and shareholder revenue—by masking it with pro-social moral virtues. We see some of the flashy lifestyle that Sumwun’s success provides its workers, and we see it weather difficult financial circumstances, but we don’t ever see any evidence of Rhett’s claim that the service helps people.

“Believing that you can somehow prevent change is the surest way to fail. Whether in life or sales, nothing ever stays the same.”

Darren is initially the one who doesn’t want to change, despite Ma and Soraya’s urging that he seek out new opportunities. Later in the book, however, Ma, Jason, and Soraya are among those who question just how much Darren has changed in the course of working at Sumwun. Askaripour brings up the sometimes difficult-to-determine difference between personal growth and development, as well as the betrayal of one’s values and the breaking of ties to old friends. Over the course of the novel, Darren both betrays some of his values and old friends and experiences empowering growth, illustrating the multivalent nature of change.

“I should have known from the Middle Passage to never trust a white man who says ‘Take a seat.’ It could be your last.”

This quote powerfully, and directly, connects Darren’s present-day experience of white supremacy at Sumwun with the legacy of slavery. These themes and motifs recur throughout the book: Askaripour contrasts representations of, and allusions to, slavery with selling as a source of opportunity and freedom.

“Whether you sell someone on yes or they sell you on no, a sale is always made.”

This quote picks up on the themes introduced in the Author’s Note, wherein selling is framed as more than simply a job or economic transaction: Rather, the paradigm of selling, and the rhetorical strategies of persuasion through which it manifests, are represented here as ways of understanding all social relations as, essentially, negotiations.

“[I]n any game, you gotta have a short-term memory. Someone tell you some shit you don’ like? Forget it the minute they mouth close. Someone tell you some shit you do like? Man […] you betta forget that shit even quicker.”

Wally Cat’s words of wisdom here elaborate on the idea of perpetual change introduced previously. They also develop the idea of life as a “game” that its players can either win or lose. In Wally Cat’s estimation, positive responses are even more of a liability than negative ones: The important thing seems to be staying focused on one’s own goals, rather than getting distracted by the behavior of the other players.

“Contrary to popular belief, ‘fairness’ has no place in sales. It is not a meritocracy. Every salesperson comes into the game with a different set of advantages and disadvantages, but it’s knowing how to double down on what makes you special that will help you get ahead.”

Askaripour, through the character of Darren, introduces the idea that contemporary society is not a meritocracy and, instead, argues that individual differences are assets that, leveraged correctly, can get you ahead in this rigged game. Though Darren is referring to his own personal qualities here, this quote alludes to the differences that distinguish individuals, as well as the differences that identify distinct groups. This quote introduces ideas about fairness versus justice that arise in later references to the organizational model of the Happy Campers, whose structure and operations mirror white networks of opportunity but serve BIPOC members instead, and to the anti-affirmative action bake sale WUSS holds.

“Be careful of winning, it’s one of the most dangerous things you can ever do.”

This cryptic quote poses questions about what “winning” means and why it is so dangerous. One explanation is that winning amounts to being trapped by the rules that structure the game. Darren discovers midway through the text that the sales lifestyle—a cycle of work, partying, hangover, on a constant loop—is not especially fulfilling. Though winning seems like a worthy goal, once achieved, its value fades. Conversely, winning might be dangerous because it produces complacency and a subsequent lack of motivation to keep striving. Winning might lead to stagnation rather than the constant change that Darren has indicated is one of the baseline truths of existence.

“There’s a difference between saying you’ll do whatever it takes to win and doing whatever it takes to win. The true salesperson is a doer.”

Selling is both verbal and an action. Though Askaripour represents the importance of persuasive rhetoric to successful selling throughout the novel, the decision to pick up the phone to make that call, as Darren does when he calls Barry Dee, or to intervene in an interaction in a new way, as he does when he upsells Rhett at Starbucks, are actions. The idea of the salesperson being a doer—rather than someone to whom things happen—underscores the book’s theme of selling as self-empowerment.

“‘Fuck the old Darren,’ I announced to the empty room. ‘I’m Buck.’”

By depicting Darren embracing the identity he is given at Sumwun, Askaripour highlights the rift between Darren’s new life with his colleagues and his old life in Bed-Stuy. In this scene, where he is drinking champagne out of the bottle while soaking in the hot tub at the spa, Darren personifies a toxic, self-absorbed version of success. The fact that this moment of selfish excess marks his claiming of the identity bestowed upon him prompts us to question who, exactly, Darren aspires to be, and what he values.

“I didn’ say be more, Dar. I said give yourself the opportunity to be yourself. That’s all. Who you are has always been enough.”

This quote from Ma underscores the difficulty of determining the difference between healthy self-development in the pursuit of beneficial opportunities and trying to change as a result of feelings of inadequacy.

“I didn’t have time for any of that or anyone who thought that fighting for what you believed in meant you were brainwashed.”

 In Part 3, Soraya repeatedly protests that Darren is not the person that he used to be. Here, Darren claims to be fighting for his beliefs, but his actions belie his words: He turns against anyone who criticizes his adherence to Sumwun, and he continues to express blind faith in the company, even though he eventually learns that Sumwun’s growth has not been as effortless as employees have been led to believe.

“I want you remember to stay true to yourself and help others like you live the best life they can. It’s the duty of every man and woman who has achieved some success in life to pass it on, because when we’re gone, what matters most isn’t what we were able to attain, but who we were able to help.”

This passage from Ma’s letter reminds Darren of his values and of his identity prior to working at Sumwun. It becomes part of the core ideology of the Happy Campers organization.

“This is it. This is what I get for having sex with a white woman. I’m about to die. Trembling, I turned around only to be face-to-face with Brian wearing a black leather trench coat. ‘F***, man. Don’t ever sneak up on me like that again. What’s wrong with you? And why are you dressed like Shaft? […] Come on, let’s go. You probably scared all the white people on the block just by being here.’”

This quote exemplifies the blend of humor and gravity that characterizes the novel. On the one hand, the scene comes across as comic due to the contrast between Darren’s fears of being attacked and the reality of Brian’s harmlessness. On the other hand, Darren’s specific fear of becoming the target of violence for having sex with a white woman is rooted in the very real history of Black men being attacked and killed for associating with white women, the murder of Emmett Till being the most infamous example. All of Darren’s success has not removed him from the legacy of such violent histories or from the structural racism persisting in the present day. When he urges Brian to come inside to avoid scaring the white people who live in his new neighborhood, he alludes to the way that racism manifests spatially: Some people are welcome, and seen as belonging in a given space, while others are identified as dangerous strangers.

“[Y]ou both managed to not only convince a subway full of white people that they were Black but also that they were proud of it. If that’s not sales, I don’t know what is.”

Like the quote from the Author’s Note about the difficulty of changing someone’s mind, this quote also develops the idea that salesmanship is about persuasion and ideology.

“The things we do and say on this earth, whether as salespeople or just people, matter. As do the things we don’t do or say. To be a salesperson is to believe that you are the master of your own destiny, something never to be taken lightly.”

After his unorthodox sales training techniques land Brian in jail, Darren reflects on the ways that his actions have negatively impacted others. Actions have consequences, and, while those actions can be empowering, the effect they have on others also needs to be taken into account.

“I had known the war wasn’t over; it couldn’t have been. People like Clyde—rich, white, and powerful—don’t succumb to physical threats, and they also don’t make them. Their warfare is institutional, psychological, and strategic. In chess, you don’t beat your opponent by rocking them in the jaw, you back them into a corner until they have nowhere else to go.”

As Darren reflects here, structural racism and white supremacy persist, despite the gains that he has made as an individual, and the ones that the Happy Campers have made as a group.

“[N]othing in life is free, especially freedom.”

The idea that freedom has a price, which this quote suggests, reinforces the paradigm of salesmanship as a worldview, rather than simply an occupation.

“That’s why we started the Happy Campers […] Because we know that when you lift others up, regardless of their skin color, your arms get stronger. And what I want for those Happy Campers is the same thing I want for you all here today. To never, ever, feel less than again.”

Askaripour combines uplift discourse and self-empowerment in this excerpt from Darren’s speech at the Sumwun conference. By including the audience in this speech, he makes the objectives of the Happy Campers seem relatable, rather than antagonistic.  

“As for my life, I am happy. I am locked up in a cage but have never been freer.”

It is difficult to know how to understand the concept of “freedom” here. Darren expresses that he has attained psychological freedom, but at the same time, he is quite literally imprisoned. Given the history of Black entrapment, from kidnapping and enslavement to the capture of fugitive enslaved people to inequitable treatment by law enforcement, it’s difficult to read “freedom” into Darren’s situation.