82 pages • 2 hours read
Jason ReynoldsWhen I Was the Greatest
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2014A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Literary Devices
Humor
Elements of humor play an important role in constructing the comforting atmosphere of When I Was the Greatest. As Ali talks, there is no indicator to whom he is speaking, which feels like a deliberate ploy by Reynolds to make the story feel inviting to everyone. It is successful because the inflections of humor in Ali’s narrative style often mimic his tone when he banters with Noodles and Jazz. This creates an effect of intimacy that resonates with the family theme and makes readers feel less like outside observers and more like part of the neighborhood.
While this is a story of friendship and family, it is told in the context of a neighborhood impacted by crime and poverty. Added to that, one of the characters central to the story has a neurological disorder that has affected his life in heartbreaking ways. These injections of humor serve to counterbalance the heavier aspects of the story’s content and avoid contributing to an already extensive catalogue of trauma porn about Black experience.
Dialect
With humor and mature insights, Ali tells the story of a summer spent with close friends and family. His expressiveness is a key feature of his lively narration, as is the use of African American Vernacular English (AAVE), another trait of his narrative style. Use of this dialect adds detail to the story’s sociocultural context and its verisimilitude because AAVE is typically a feature of African American communities. Code-switching (shifting from one language or dialect to another) is often necessary when Black people interact with others in more formal settings because of the negative associations with speaking in AAVE. Using this dialect throughout the story signals that Ali’s neighborhood is an environment where characters do not have to code-switch and can lean into this aspect of their culture without judgment. The result is a setting of relaxed familiarity that makes the story feel like intimate access to Ali’s world.
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