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The main conflict of The Nickel Boys is Elwood Curtis’s struggle against the racist and violent administration at Nickel Academy. When Elwood arrives at Nickel, he quickly realizes that the time he spends at the school will be a daily struggle to survive. Elwood feels hopeful when he arrives on the campus because it appears well-manicured and outwardly pleasant. His optimism even continues for a short while after arrival when his teacher seems open to requesting more challenging materials for him. However, Elwood soon learns that Nickel Academy is a dangerous place where the slightest infraction will result in a brutal, middle-of-the-night beating at the White House.
Elwood is introduced as a young child who is being raised by his grandmother. He relishes the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., who inspires him to stand up for what is right and to get involved in the Civil Rights Movement. When he helps at Harriet’s workplace, a hotel restaurant, the kitchen staff take advantage of his trusting nature and trick him into doing their work to win a set of encyclopedias. Elwood learns a difficult lesson about misplaced trust when he finds out the encyclopedias are blank. Later, his teacher, Mr. Hill, shows him that standing up for justice is possible and that other people feel passionately about civil rights too. When Elwood joins Mr. Hill and other students at a protest at the Florida Theater, he feels true camaraderie and hope for positive change. The inciting incident occurs after Elwood, much to his grandmother’s delight, enrolls in free college classes while still in high school. Elwood believes that hard work and determination will improve his life, and he is determined to attend the classes, which are seven miles away. Elwood hitchhikes and accepts a ride from a man driving a stolen car. The car is pulled over, and the police arrest Elwood without investigating whether he was involved in the car theft.
Elwood’s first beating at Nickel Academy shakes his optimism. When he sees two boys bullying another student, he tries to step in and help. Instead of being praised for his efforts, Elwood and the other three boys are all punished by Spencer and Earl. They bring the four boys to the White House and beat Elwood so badly that he passes out. Afterward, Elwood struggles to process the trauma while recovering in the hospital on campus. While he heals, he becomes close with Turner, who advises him to keep to himself and stop worrying about helping other people.
As Elwood begins helping Turner with Community Service, his eyes are opened to the extent of the corruption at Nickel Academy. Not only are the staff at Nickel brutally mistreating students and breaking the law by continuing segregation, they are also taking resources away from the Black students. He decides to write down everything he witnesses because he believes that exposing the school’s misdeeds is the only way to stop them. Eventually, he learns that there will be a “surprise” inspection, and he plans to give his notebook to the inspector to take down Nickel. His plans are thwarted, but Turner steps up and abandons his typical individualism to turn the notebook in. Both boys understand that the consequences of this infraction could be fatal, but they take the chance for the greater good. Spencer finds out about the notebook, and nothing happens to Nickel.
A couple days after the notebook is turned in, Elwood is sent to solitary confinement where he finally loses hope and questions the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. He loses the remnants of his childhood naïveté and realizes that attempting to expose the injustices at Nickel is pointless. The climax occurs when Turner becomes aware of Spencer’s plan to murder Elwood by taking him “out back,” and he decides to abandon his individualistic mentality and help Elwood escape. The two friends leave Nickel, but Harper and Hennepin follow them, eventually catching up to the two boys and shooting Elwood dead. Turner goes on to use Elwood’s name to honor his friend’s memory. When news of the graveyard shows up in the news, Turner finally decides to face his traumatic past and testify to give a voice to all the voiceless boys who suffered at Nickel Academy.
