Feigned or not, sometimes I'm jealous of Hominy's oblivousness, because he, unlike America, has turned the page. That's the problem with history, we like to think of it's a book – that we can turn the page and move the fuck on. But history isn't the paper it's printed on. It's memory, and memory is time, emotions, and song. History is the things that stay with you.
The narrator expresses envy towards Hominy's inability to remember the past, contrasting it with America's struggle to move forward. While many believe history can simply be forgotten like a book's pages, the narrator highlights that true history encompasses deeper elements like emotions and memories. It is not a simple act of turning a page.
Instead, history lingers within us, shaped by our experiences and feelings. The author, Paul Beatty, suggests that this interconnectedness of memory and time complicates our relationship with history, making it an integral part of our identity rather than a mere record of events.
