Paul Beatty published The Sellout in 2015 to explore the contemporary theme of bigotry using the humorist hypothesis. The novel commences with a preamble in which the unnamed narrator claims that he is not a thief but is merely blamed because he is a black man. The narrator reveals to readers that he is chained and in the United State's Supreme Court to face charges against him. The flashback reminds readers that the narrator was a tourist in Washington D.C. before judgment day. The man is charged with trying to bring back ethnic isolation in the United States of America.
The narrator's tale reveals the dark side of modern America because people are still judged based on their skin color. A close follow-up on how the narrator ended up in the Supreme Court reveals that his father treated him as an experiment during his upbringing. Consequently, the boy grew up knowing the whole world was racist. However, despite being brought up as a conservative white, the boy did not imagine racism as a dilemma in contemporary America. The only incident of racism the boy remembers is when he was charged more when purchasing soda because he had black skin. When his father was shot, the narrator inherited his property in Dickens and decided to continue his father's campaign to enlighten residents about their rights.
The narrator's father was a strong believer in an equal society in which people were treated with dignity regardless of skin color. Therefore, he led a vicious campaign against racism, and when he died, the narrator decided to follow in his father's footsteps. However, the narrator was not happy taking the role of mobilizing residents of Dickens against the system. Still, he had no choice but to fulfill his father's dream of achieving a free society.
Later in life, the narrator realizes that the authorities have erased Dickens from the map to raise property prices. He joins hands with his father's old friends to campaign against the authority's actions. Some people like Hominy decide to be the narrator's enslaved people, which he reluctantly accepts. Then, the narrator and Hominy engage in segregation activities, including attempting to bring Dickens back to the map. Many residents are behind the narrator's campaign, but Foy Chesire is not happy about this, and he calls the narrator a sellout and enslaver. The narrator is arrested and charged with racism, attempting to bring back segregation and holding enslaved people. Five years later, the narrator is waiting for judgment. Meanwhile, Barack Obama was elected as the first black American president, and Dickens was returned to the world map.
