The Last White Man: A Novel

The opening line of the novel contains a strong literary allusion to Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis (1915), which opens with the protagonist transformed into an insect. In both novels, the metaphor of change or metamorphosis, both literal and symbolic, is employed. Like Kafka, Hamid’s novel engages in the theme of isolation in modern society, portraying Anders as an alienated young man who, following the change, describes himself as a “supporting character on the set of the television show where his life was being enacted” and where he now plays a “peripheral” role (48). As such, social isolation is key to understanding The Last White Man, and it intersects with the theme of The Construction of Race and Whiteness Theory, as race itself is mechanism of transformation and isolation. Where Kafka’s protagonist becomes a large, magical insect to express the theme of isolation, Anders becomes something very real: a person of color.

Indeed, The Construction of Race and Whiteness Theory is perhaps the most important theme of the novel, as society projects specific meaning onto race. For example, when Anders first sees his reflection in the mirror, his main emotion is not shock, but rather rage. He has been conditioned to hold an extreme, negative reaction to people of color, and he comprehends his transformation within the context of his own view that whiteness is superior. Indeed, he believes that he has been “robbed” of his whiteness, presumably by the man he now sees in the mirror. This idea of being robbed of whiteness also commodifies race and identity as something to pass between owners, presenting the idea that white privilege is a social inheritance. Further, he almost reflexively changes the way he walks, even within his own home, to prevent society perceiving him as prey, which also reveals his own perception of people of color. This behavioral shift and the use of “prey” also brings to mind the image of a young man of color being killed by the police or even vigilantes, foreshadowing later events in the text and tying into 21^st-century American history. Anders also later thinks of a group of men of color as animals waiting to be transported, further highlighting his racism. Hamid’s use of commodifying and animalistic language to describe race throughout the novel frames his critique of the construction of race in society.

Indeed, the terminology Hamid uses to describe Anders’s change suggests the author’s desire to escape the specificity of the US to allow the novel to remain allegorical and therefore universal. While the narrator does speak of characters being white or losing their whiteness, he never uses terms specific to the US alone. The narrator instead describes characters as becoming “dark,” “dark-skinned,” or “brown.” In a move typical to magical realism, how or why the characters “changed” is not questioned or discussed by the narrator or the characters. Anders initially thinks that his changed color might be a dream, but he quickly realizes that is not the case. The change is, on one level, entirely superficial, yet it seems to result in other differences, especially in the ways that the newly dark Anders is perceived, or believes himself to be perceived, by others. Oona tells him that he has changed as a person. His boss says that suicide would be his own response to changing. White people no longer recognize him as Anders. People of color may not know him as Anders but recognize him as another human being, perhaps akin to themselves.

This opening section also introduces the theme of the influence of Social Media and Conspiracy Theories on contemporary life. Oona’s mother, who is of an older generation, spends massive amounts of time online as part of her grief following the loss of her son. The conspiracy theories she finds give her a renewed sense of purpose, but they also allow her racist views to grow. She is the first to voice that many people are changing, which she is horrified by. While Oona warns her mother “that she should not trust the stuff she found online” (21), even Oona speaks this sentiment out of habit rather than true conviction. Oona’s mother, who is unnamed, is part of an online community that is concerned with changes happening to “our people,” as she describes the white population (20). She is active online, an insider who understands “the plot” even if others like her own daughter did not (50). In her belief, white society is under attack and needs to be defended. She is also a prepper who stockpiles food and weapons in preparation for chaos. There is a religious zeal to her racist beliefs, which serves as commentary on far-right political and cultural extremists. Lastly, that Oona’s mother’s conspiracy theories hold some truth is an interesting choice that suggests that conspiracy theories can hold glimmers of reality that are then taken to extremes in order to fit within larger cultural views of the status quo. This choice may also suggest that social media and the internet provide alternate news sources that have some value but ultimately become all-consuming for those who rely solely on them.

The final major theme introduced in this section is Loss and Mourning, as both Anders and Oona have lost people significant to their lives. Anders lost his mother, who was his main supporter in life, and his father is fatally ill. Oona, having previously lost her father, has returned home to live with her mother because of the recent death of her brother. The story of the tadpoles, which Oona tells Anders, alludes to the impossibility of evading death even when the utmost care is given. Further, the tadpoles themselves represent an incomplete transformation, as tadpoles are meant to be frogs, but these died before they could complete their change. This emphasizes the importance of transformation within the text, suggesting that it is a natural part of life, as is death. Interestingly, Oona is unable to mourn the loss of her brother, despite her desire to process his death. After telling Anders the story, she checks her cheeks for tears but finds that they remain dry. This loss and the story of the tadpoles are intertwined, suggesting that a transformation was cut short, which perhaps highlights her brother’s substance use disorder and Oona’s inability to fully process the loss of a life that ended abruptly, and thus a transformation left incomplete.