The Black American Short Story in the 20th Century
Page 7
tains th e centra l issu e o f th e parable . Ronal d Walcott , "Chesnutťs The
Sheriff's Children ' as Parable," Negro American Literature, 7 (Fall 1973), 85.
Haslam (op.cit. , p. 25) sees in the story "a parable for this nation's contempo-
rary racia l crisi s an d continuin g moral atrophy" and goes on to ask himself
who is the sheriff an d who the son, but fail s to mention th e daughter. Bone
(op.cit. , 97) als o forget s th e daughte r (an d th e title o f the story), but says
that th e central conflict i n the story is "emblematic of a nation that will not
face its historical responsibilities. The sheriff's repudiation of his paternal role
is symbolic of America' s rejection of her black minority. Chesnutt is thus the
first black story-writer to employ the archetypal figure of the Negro as rejected
child."
39. Se e J.C . Furnas , Goodbye to Uncle Tom (New York, 1956) , pp. 140f .
See als o Willia m Cohen , "Thoma s Jefferso n an d th e Proble m o f Slavery, "
Journal of American History, 55 (1969), 503-526.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Chesnutťs books of fiction are all available in reprint editions:
The Conjure Woman. An n Arbor, 1969 [1899].
The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color Line. Ann Arbor,
1968 [1899].
The House Behind the Cedars. New York, 1969 [1900].
The Marrow; of Tradition. Ann Arbor, 1969 [1901].
The Colonel's Dream. Miami, 1969 [1905].
For a complete list of Chesnutťs work see William L . Andrews, "The Works
of Charle s W . Chesnutt: A Checklist," Bulletin of Bibliography, 3 3 (1976),
4547,52.
For a list of secondary source s see Joan Cunningham, "Secondary Studies on
the Fictio n o f Charles W. Chesnutt," Bulletin of Bibliography, 33 (1976), 48-
52.
Chesnutťs uncollected short stories are now also available in book form:
Sylvia Lyon s Render , The Short Fiction of Charles W. Chesnutt (Wash-
ington, D.C., 1974).
38
John Wakefiel d
PAUL LAURENC E DUNBA R
THE SCAPEGOAT
(1904)
When Dunba r a t th e heigh t o f hi s fame, hi s contemporary Charle s
W. Chesnut t qui t wor k a s a full-tim e writer . I n a lette r t o hi s
publisher h e observed , "M y friend , Mr . Howell s ha s remarke d
several time s tha t ther e i s no colo r lin e in literature . O n tha t poin t
I tak e issu e wit h him." 1 Dunba r continue d hi s caree r a s a profes -
sional writer , an d i n s o doin g accepte d th e limit s impose d upo n
him b y a publishin g worl d dominate d b y whit e values . I f w e ca n
judge fro m wha t th e leadin g edito r o f hi s ag e foun d attractiv e i n
black writing , then w e are led t o th e conclusio n tha t a black write r
was require d t o pla y th e rol e o f wha t Howell s calle d th e "exem -
plary citizen." 2 Th e libera l edito r wa s referrin g i n thi s phras e t o
the publi c imag e projected b y the writings of Booker T.Washington .
Howells' approva l indicate s th e kin d o f decoru m require d o f a
black write r by hi s nineteenth centur y audience .
The kin d o f styl e tha t please d Howells , h e found i n the writin g
of Dunbar , Washington , an d th e earl y Chesnutt . H e admired abov e
all it s freedo m fro m "bitterness. " Unruffle d b y racia l injustice ,
they wrot e i n a styl e tha t h e characterize d a s showin g a "sweet ,
brave, humor." 3 Dunbar' s caree r depende d upo n hi s being able t o
reproduce th e desire d tone. 4 B y confinin g himsel f t o th e stereo -
type theme s o f plantatio n fictio n — racial reconciliation , blac k
loyalty, an d abov e al l humou r — Dunbar achieved this . H e was ,
however, wel l awar e o f the,genre' s limitations . Whe n questione d
about th e relationshi p o f hi s wor k t o hi s race , he replied, " I hop e
you ar e no t on e o f thos e wh o woul d hol d th e Negr o dow n t o a
certain kin d o f poetr y — dialect an d concernin g onl y scene s o f
plantation i n th e South?" 5 Dunbar' s shor t storie s showe d tha t h e
rarely followe d hi s own advice .
Dunbar's conversatio n i n thi s respect wa s largely dictate d b y th e
hidden convention s o f decoru m rulin g th e blac k writer' s relation -
ship wit h hi s audience . Whil e w e ca n safel y assum e tha t a whit e
audience impose d sever e restrictions o f styl e an d subject-matte r o n
39
a writer , w e mus t no t underestimat e th e demand s o f th e blac k
middle-class. James Weldon Johnson, Dunbar' s frien d an d literary
heir, claimed that both black and white audiences exerted pressures
on th e blac k writer . Dunbar , face d wit h wha t Johnso n calle d —
"the proble m of a double audience" — had to be careful t o respect
the prejudices of both sides.6
Decorum then , ma y b e define d a s the writer' s respons e t o hi s
audience's sens e o f "goo d behaviour. " Translate d int o term s o f
Dunbar's pros e thi s meant evolving a series of strategies. Foremost
of course , Dunba r trie d t o evad e portrayin g an y ope n conflic t
between blac k an d white . Secondly, he had recours e to irony and
humour. Iron y enable d hi m t o distanc e himsel f fro m hi s materia l
and s o avoid an y accusatio n tha t hi s intention wa s to complain or
protest. Finally, Dunbar presented himself as an adept in the white
literary code : a n exemplar y citize n supportin g the values of white
culture. Th e overal l strateg y appear s t o hav e been a form o f self -
defence for the writer. In terms of his relationship with his audience
it amounte d t o a taci t agreemen t t o forge t th e proble m o f rac e
altogether.
Dunbar's readines s t o subscrib e to the demands of decorum can
be partly explained by reference t o his education. Dunbar belonged
to th e emergin g middle-class. And it was after al l the literate black
who ha d contribute d t o th e creatio n o f th e exemplar y citizen . If
we look a t Dunbar' s famil y w e fin d an ambivalence, even a hostil-
ity, toward popula r oral black culture. Dunbar first learned dialect
and hear d tale s o f th e plantatio n fro m hi s mother, ye t whe n h e
wrote hi s poem "Whe n Malind y Sings " he feared t o offend he r by
dedicating i t i n he r name. 7 Mathild a Dunba r wa s a self-educate d
woman an d spok e perfec t English ; dialect , thoug h amusing , still
reminded he r o f slavery . Thu s Dunba r seem s t o hav e grow n u p
speaking tw o languages, but with a certain reserve toward the black
oral tradition . Late r i n life , Dunba r woul d encounte r simila r
attitudes i n hi s wife, Alice Dunbar . Alic e di d no t wis h Dunba r to
take credi t fo r th e tex t o f th e musica l comed y Clorindy. Sh e did
not wis h her husban d to , be publicly know n a s one o f th e "coo n
song writers."8
It i s not difficult t o understand the attitude of Dunbar's mother
and his wife. The spurious and degraded character of contemporary
black minstrels y coul d hardl y hav e bee n thei r ide a o f fame .
Unfortunately, th e commercialization o f blac k ora l culture served
40
/>
to divorc e th e blac k middle-clas s fro m it s cultura l past . Dunba r
found himsel f fluent i n th e languag e o f tw o opposin g cultures , bu t
according t o Alic e Dunba r coul d onl y trul y expres s himsel f i n
English:
It was in the pure Englis h poems that the poet expressed himself. He may
have expresse d hi s rac e i n th e dialec t poems ; they wer e to him the side
issues of his work, the overflowing of a life apart from his dearest dreams.
Dunbar's late r aversio n fo r dialec t suggest s tha t Alice' s judgement
must b e respected. Dunbar' s educatio n had led to think of literatur e
in term s o f masterin g th e whit e literar y code . Influence d b y th e
black minstre l show s o f hi s day, he wa s led t o believ e tha t th e ora l
tradition coul d onl y serv e as a vehicle fo r amusement .
Howells detecte d somethin g o f Dunbar' s attitud e towar d th e
black traditio n i n his review o f Dunbar' s poem s Majors and Minors
in Jun e 1896 . Howell s praise s Dunbar' s ironi c tone . What Dunba r
had i n fac t don e wa s to signa l his allegiance to the rules of decorum .
As a n educate d black , Dunba r wa s carefull y tryin g t o avoi d bein g
identified wit h th e black s o f hi s dialec t poems . Iron y serve d a s a
device b y whic h th e poe t coul d distanc e himsel f fro m hi s material .
His powers o f ora l mimicry mus t no t b e allowed to hide his mastery
of th e whit e literar y code. Howells doubtless recognized in Dunbar's
irony exactl y wha t Dunba r hope d a white criti c would :
He reveal s i n thes e [poems ] a finel y ironi c perceptio n o f th e negroes '
limitations, with a tenderness for the m which I think so very rare as to be
almost quite new.
Howells' judgmen t o f Dunbar' s styl e coincide s i n som e respect s
with Alic e Dunbar's : blac k cultur e is inferior to white. The language
of th e forme r slav e expresse d hi s limitations . Howell s make s thi s
quite clea r whe n h e refer s t o ho w thes e poem s revea l th e narro w
emotional "rang e o f the race."11 This , of course, is Howells'opinion
but i t i s surel y significan t tha t Dunbar' s iron y seem s t o poin t i n
this direction .
Recent criticis m o f Dunbar' s shor t storie s ha s bee n rathe r
influenced b y th e protes t literatur e o f th e sixties . However , a s
Robert Bon e ha s pointe d out , ther e i s not to o much evidenc e tha t
Dunbar wa s a frustrate d protes t writer. 12 Bon e dismisse s Darwi n
T. Turner' s reference s t o Dunbar' s storie s o f lynching , an d hi s
occasional letter s o f protes t t o newspapers , a s unconvincing. 13
41
Bone's vie w o f Dunba r a s a typica l produc t o f th e so-calle d ag e o f
Booker T . Washingto n seem s t o pus h th e argumen t to o fa r i n th e
opposite direction . Dunba r wa s a more complicate d man than that .
More recentl y Bernhar d Ostendor f ha s re-focusse d discussio n o n
Dunbar's socia l dilemm a a s a writer : "Thu s Dunba r wa s caugh t
between theme , form , an d audience." 14 Thi s seem s t o m e a mor e
promising appraoc h t o Dunbar , especiall y i f th e writer' s styl e i s
related t o th e newspape r article s whic h Bon e choose s to ignore. 15
My ow n feelin g i s tha t instea d o f approachin g Dunba r i n term s
of genr e an d content , a s Bon e an d Turne r tr y t o do , w e migh t
consider ho w Dunba r manoeuvre d withi n th e narro w confine s o f
decorum. Wha t w e discove r wil l represen t onl y margina l victorie s
for Dunbar . I t will , however , revea l som e o f th e problem s o f
audience-writer relation s tha t Dunba r ha d t o conten d with , an d
some o f th e rhetorica l device s Dunba r developed . Th e bul k o f
Dunbar's firs t collectio n o f shor t storie s Folks From Dixie (1898 )
is a stud y i n evasion. 16 A s th e titl e suggests , it i s a fight fro m con -
temporary problem s t o a n idealize d south , fille d wit h stereotyp e
blacks wh o scarcel y eve r refe r t o slavery . Ther e is, however, on e
exception. Th e stor y o f th e min e strike "A t Shaf t 11 " deals with a
current conflic t betwee n blac k an d whit e workers . Dunba r show s
some ingenuit y i n dealin g wit h thi s subjec t withi n th e limit s pre -
scribed b y decorum . Sinc e thi s stor y wa s written i n th e sam e yea r
as Dunba r ha d sen t a n articl e t o a blac k newspape r defendin g th e
black miners ' civi l right s i t migh t b e instructiv e t o compar e ho w
Dunbar present s hi s cas e t o hi s tw o differen t audiences . In hi s
newspaper articl e Dunba r ha d writte n i n propria persona, hi s ton e
is both angry an d idealistic :
It is true, as has been insistently urged , that it would be expedient for the
Negro to forego his suffrage an d climb to worth and to the world's respect
by other means: that is the cry of the miners when they ask him out of the
mines. I t is the word of the whole commercial world when they ask him
out o f everythin g - th e America n shibboleth. Relinquish! Relinquish! 17
Clearly thi s i s no t th e languag e o f a Booker T. Washington. Bone' s
view o f Dunba r i s too generalized. Be that a s it may , when Dunba r
handled thi s sam e topi c i n hi s shor t story , h e pu t i t in th e mout h
of a whit e man . Thi s man' s ton e i s quit e differen t fro m Dunbar' s
own: h e is neither motivated by passion or idealism, but by commo n
sense:
42
"As for niggers , I ain't an y friendlier t o 'em than the rest of you; But I
ain't the man to throw up a job and then howl when somebody else gets it.
If we don't want our hoe-cake, there's others that do."18
Dunbar's altere d ton e reflect s hi s effor t t o retai n decoru m b y
avoiding the languag e o f protest . B y playing the rol e of the white
miner h e trie s t o reconcil e hi s audienc e t o th e reasonablenes s o f
the blacks. In a less interesting way he used this same strategy in at
least three other stories from Folks From Dixie: " A Family Feud,"
"The Interventio n o f Peter, " an d "Nels e Hatton' s Vengeance. "
Nelse Hatton i s a typica l exampl e o f Dunbar' s conceptio n o f the
exemplary black . Instea d o f revengin g himself o n hi s old master ,
who turns u p a t hi s hom e afte r th e emancipation , Hatto n over -
comes hi s forme r hatre d an d treat s th e whit e wit h hospitality .
Dunbar's idealis m leave s little t o b e desired , bu t i t doe s leave his
hero somewha t devoi d o f an y norma l huma n responses . Decorum
clearly require d tha t black s purg e themselve s o f anger . An d thi s
was equally valid for both the writer and his characters.
With th e publicatio n o f Dunbar' s secon d collectio n o f shor t
stories, some o f hi s hesitance disappears . Socia l injustice doe s get
discussed, an d black s are allowe d t o sho w anger . The Strength of
Gideon (1900 ) represent s Dunbar' s onl y rea l attemp t t o brea k
directly wit h th e rule s o f decorum . Characteristically , th e smal l
group o f storie s i n whic h Dunba r allow s himsel f thi s libert y al l
deal wit h scene s fro m contemporar y
life , an d non e o f the m ar e
told i n dialect . On e characte r i n particula r merit s our attention .
The newspape r edito r Courtne y o f " A Counci l o f State " forget s
the tex t o f a rather tam e speec h h e has prepared an d bursts int o
anger o n th e questio n o f racial injustice. Her e Dunbar as a former
editor o f a black newspape r come s closest in his fiction t o playing
himself. Th e sens e o f frustratio n fel t b y Courtne y i n followin g a
carefully prepare d tex t tha t wil l offen d no-on e i n hi s audienc e
reflects perhaps some of Dunbar's own hidden emotions:
He started calmly , but a s he progressed, the memory of all the wrongs,
personal and racial that he had suffered; the knowledge of the disabilities
that he and his brethren had to suffer, and the vision of toil unrequited,
love rejected, and loyalty ignored, swept him off his feet.19
Another embittere d black , th e disappointe d politicia n o f "Mr .
Cornelius Johnson: Office Seeke, " is more direct still:
43
"Damn you! damn you! he cried. "Damn your deceit, your fair cruelties;
damn you, you hard, white liar! 19
Dunbar, however , seem s t o hav e tire d eve n o f thes e momentar y
flashes o f anger . I n hi s nex t collectio n o f storie s In Old Plantation
Days (1903 ) h e reverte d t o th e plantatio n fictio n o f hi s firs t
publication Folks From Dixie.
In 'Th e Scapegoat " whic h appeare d i n Dunbar' s las t serie s o f
stories The Heart of Happy Hollow h e finall y turne d awa y fro m
any direc t treatmen t o f th e rac e problem . I n thi s stor y Dunba r
attacks th e blac k middle-class , thu s reversin g mos t o f th e assump -
tions upo n whic h hi s caree r a s a write r ha d bee n based . Dunbar' s
displays o f ange r i n The Strength of Gideon wer e the result o f hi s
ability t o identif y wit h th e ideal s o f th e emergin g blac k middle -
class: th e stor y o f Asbury' s betraya l an d defea t a t th e hand s o f
these "idealists " suggests that h e had change d hi s mind .
The her o o f "Th e Scapegoat " i s a ma n wh o doe s not deriv e hi s
virtues fro m th e middle-clas s bu t fro m th e poor black s of Cadger s
where h e gre w up . B y emphasizin g Asbury' s shrewdnes s an d