The Black American Short Story in the 20th Century

by Peter Bruck

  noted b y Car l Va n Vechten, through whos e sponsorshi p Hughe s

  was abl e to ge t his first contrac t wit h th e note d publishe r Alfre d

  Knopf. Va n Vechten, who acte d a s a main ambassadoria l adviso r

  and patro n o f blac k literature to white publishing firms during the

  1920's,1 no t onl y pave d th e wa y fo r Hughes ' literary caree r bu t

  also becam e th e "chie f architec t o f hi s earl y success." 2 Jus t a s

  with Dunba r an d Chesnutt , whit e patronag e played a decisive role

  in th e literar y emergenc e o f Langsto n Hughes . The omnipresenc e

  of th e whit e patro n wit h hi s significant socio-literar y influence o n

  the blac k autho r wa s a discovery tha t th e youn g Hughe s was still

  to make ; his gradual an d painstakin g emancipatio n fro m th e grip

  of such white patrons was to become the major concern of his early

  phase and to play a dominant theme in his short fiction .

  Starting to publish in the midst of the 1920's meant for Langston

  Hughes to b e intrinsically involve d i n a debate ove r the function ,

  theme, an d aestheti c for m o f blac k literature . Th e proble m be -

  came eve n mor e urgen t whe n th e 'Harle m Renaissance ' perio d

  began and , a t th e sam e time, the widel y acclaime d emergenc e o f

  the "Ne w Negro ' confronte d th e blac k write r wit h th e tas k o f

  defining hi s rol e a s a literar y artist . I n orde r t o foste r a critical

  discussion of these questions, the leading black magazine The Crisis

  organized a symposium , "Th e Negr o i n Art : Ho w Shal l H e B e

  Portrayed?," throughou t th e March-Novembe r issue s o f 1926 .

  Prior to this , Alain Locke , "fathe r o f th e 'New Negro' and the so-

  called Harle m Renaissance,"3 ha d attempted t o define the cultural

  stance of the 'New Negro' in the following manner :

  He [the New Negro] now becomes a conscious contributor and lays aside

  71

  the status of a beneficiary an d ward for that of a collaborator and partici-

  pant in Amercian civilization. The great social gain in this is the releasing of

  our talente d grou p from th e arid fields of controversy an d debate to the

  productive fields of creative expression. The especially cultural recognition

  they wi n shoul d i n tur n prov e th e ke y t o that revaluatio n of the Negro

  which must precede or accompany any considerable further betterment of

  race relationships.

  Locke, wh o clearl y pursue d DuBois ' philosoph y o f a "talente d

  tenth," aspire d t o a n attitud e o f cultura l elitis m tha t envisione d

  art an d cultur e t o b e a bridg e acros s th e racia l barrier ; henc e hi s

  calling for a "carefully maintaine d contac t between the enlightened

  minorities o f bot h rac e groups." 5 Thi s philosoph y o f cultur e un -

  doubtedly presente d a challeng e t o al l thos e youn g blac k writer s

  who wer e primaril y concerne d wit h expressin g th e ne w feelin g o f

  ethnic identit y an d racia l pride . On e o f thos e willin g t o fac e thi s

  challenge wa s th e young Langsto n Hughe s who, on Jun e 23 , 1926 ,

  published a n essa y tha t ma y no t onl y b e viewe d a s a n indirec t

  reply t o Lock e bu t als o becam e know n a s th e firs t significan t

  black literary manifesto .

  The importanc e o f th e "Negr o Artis t an d th e Racia l Mountain "

  for th e evolutio n o f blac k literature canno t b e overstressed. I n th e

  words o f Charle s S . Johnson , forme r edito r o f Opportunity , non e

  other tha n Hughe s wit h thi s essa y "s o completel y symbolize d th e

  new emancipation o f th e Negr o mind." 6

  In outlining his stance a s a black writer , Hughes placed particular

  emphasis on racial pride an d ethni c identity :

  To m y mind , i t i s th e dut y o f th e younge r Negr o artist s .. . t o chang e

  through th e forc e o f hi s ar t tha t ol d whispering , " I wan t to be white,"

  hidden in the aspirations of his people, to "Why should I want to be white?

  I am a Negro and beautiful."7

  Hughes' emphasi s o n blackness , whic h anticipate d th e present-da y

  discussion o f th e possibilitie s o f a black aesthetic, clearly signalle d

  the renunciatio n o f th e well-know n proble m o f "racial " vs . "uni -

  versal" art . Instea d Hughe s turne d t o depictin g the ordinar y blac k

  American. As he recalled in his first autobiograph y The Big Sea,

  I felt tha t the masses of our people had as much in their lives to put into

  books a s di d those more fortunate one s ... I didn't kno w the upper class

  Negroes well enough to write much about them. I knew only the people I had

  grown up with, and they weren't people whose shoes were always shined.8

  72

  His extensive reliance o n fol k form s an d rhythm s an d his applica-

  tion o f ora l folk culture to poetry highlight his innovating efforts 9

  and mar k th e beginnin g o f th e "reconciliatio n o f forma l blac k

  poets t o thei r fol k root s an d gras s roots audience." 10 On e o f th e

  most popula r result s o f hi s preoccupation s i n term s o f narrativ e

  fiction wer e th e "Simpl e fol k tales " tha t firs t appeare d i n th e

  black weekl y Chicago Defender i n Novembe r 1942 . Through th e

  publication o f thes e tale s in a newspaper "whic h functione d a s a

  sort o f bibl e t o man y Negroe s i n ever y wal k o f Negr o life," 11

  Hughes spok e directl y t o th e ordinar y blac k American ; thei r

  sorrows, miseries , hopes , an d fol k wisdo m wer e encapsulate d i n

  the figure of the black everyman, Simple, whose creation undoubt-

  edly established much of Hughes' lasting fame.

  From a socio-literar y poin t o f view , th e Simpl e tale s marke d

  Hughes' firs t succes s i n gainin g a genuin e blac k audience . I n th e

  late 1920's , however, thi s goal still proved Utopian, as Hughes was

  trying to find a way out of his predicament:

  I did not want to write for the pulps, or turn out fake 'true' stories to sell

  under anonymous names. ... I did not wan t to bat out slick non-Negro

  short storie s i n competitio n wit h a thousand othe r commercial writers

  trying to make The Saturday Evening Post. I wanted to write seriously

  and a s well as I knew about the Negro people, and make that kind of

  writing earn for me a living.12

  Whereas th e bul k o f hi s poetr y i s usuall y associate d wit h th e

  Harlem Renaissance , whose "chie f literar y artis t and most famou s

  survivor"13 Hughe s i s ofte n called , hi s caree r a s a shor t stor y

  writer di d no t begi n befor e th e wan e o f thi s epoch. Although hi s

  first stories, all reflecting the author's experiences as a seaman on a

  voyage alon g th e West coast o f Africa , wer e already publishe d i n

  Harlem's literary magazine The Messenger in 1927 , it took another

  six year s befor e Hughe s reall y devote d himsel f t o writin g shor t

  fiction. Fro m th e sprin g o f 193 2 t o th e fal l o f 193 3 he visisted

  the Soviet Union and the Far East. It was during his stay in Moscow

  that h e had a decisive reading experience whic h prompte d him to

  devote himself to the short story:

  I had never read anything of Lawrence's before, and was partic
ularly taken

  with the title story ["The Lovely Lady"], and with "The Rocking Horse

  Winner." Both tales made my hair stand on end. The possessive, terrifying

  elderly woman in "The Lovely Lady" seemed in some ways so much like

  73

  my former Par k Avenue patron. .. . I began to write a short story. I had

  been saying to myself all day, "If D.H. Lawrence can write such psycho-

  logically powerful account s of folks in England, ... maybe I could write

  stories like his about folks in America.'

  The year s t o com e wer e t o se e amazing results fro m thi s literar y

  initiation. Betwee n 193 3 and 193 4 he devoted himself exclusivel y

  to thi s genre . "Mor e tha n hal f o f hi s stories, " a s Rober t Bon e

  reports, "an d nearl y al l o f hi s bes t storie s wer e writte n i n thi s

  period;"15 fourtee n o f the m wer e publishe d i n th e collection The

  Ways of White Folk i n 1934 .

  This collection , whic h receive d rathe r favorabl e reviews, 16 pre -

  sents, thematically , a clos e examinatio n o f black-whit e relation -

  ships. Mostl y satirica l i n tone , th e storie s tr y t o unmas k severa l

  manifestations o f th e Harle m Renaissance . Specifically, the theme

  of whit e patronage , a s displaye d i n "Slav e o n th e Block, " "Poo r

  Little Blac k Fellow, " an d "Th e Blue s I' m Playing, " i s use d t o

  demonstrate th e dishonest y o f white s an d th e absur d notio n o f

  their paternalisti c philanthropy. In this context , i t i s of particula r

  socio-literary interes t t o not e tha t Hughes ' fictional treatmen t o f

  the incipient dissociation from whit e predominance caused him no

  setback i n magazin e publication . Instead , hi s new literar y effort s

  soon foun d thei r wa y int o leadin g periodicals . Wherea s Hughes '

  poetry wa s usually printe d i n suc h blac k journals a s Opportunity

  and The Crisis (h e had complaine d i n 192 9 tha t "magazine s used

  very fe w storie s wit h Negr o themes, since Negro themes were con-

  sidered exotic , in a class with Chines e o r Eas t India n features), 17

  four ou t o f hi s five storie s writte n i n Mosco w wer e now accepted

  and published b y such noted periodicals as The American Mercury,

  Scribneťs Magazine and Esquire. This major breakthorugh provided

  him wit h a nation-wide , non-parochial platform , allowin g him t o

  escape fro m hi s predicament , an d opene d u p th e opportunit y o f

  gaining a primarily white reading audience.

  The reading o f Lawrence's The Lovely Lady no t only prompted

  Hughes to concentrat e o n th e shor t stor y bu t als o persuaded him

  to us e the story's protagonist Pauline Attenborough as a model for

  the creatio n o f Dor a Ellsworth , th e fictiona l representativ e o f hi s

  former whit e Par k Avenu e patroness . The Blues I'm Playing,

  written afte r hi s return fro m th e Sovie t Unio n and first publishe d

  in th e Ma y 193 4 issue of Scribneťs Magazine, was thus subject t o

  an interesting combination of influence.

  74

  The impac t o f Lawrence' s stor y become s apparen t whe n on e

  compares th e openin g descriptio n o f bot h women . Lawrenc e

  describes Paulin e Attenboroug h a s a wome n wh o "coul d stil l

  sometimes be mistaken .. . fo r thirty . She really was a wonderfully

  preserved woman , o f perfec t chic. .. . Sh e woul d b e an exquisit e

  skeleton an d he r skul l woul d b e a n exquisit e skull." 18 Th e nar-

  rator's mocking emphasis on her appearance, which she can change

  through a "mysteriou s littl e wire " o f "will," 19 expose s her artifi-

  ciality. A s a collector o f art , Pauline i s herself a "self-made objet

  d'art."20 Dor a Ellswort h i s introduce d i n a similar way. Hughes'

  description, however , i s mor e mockin g an d obviousl y aim s a t

  unmasking hi s character' s self-deception fro m th e very beginning .

  Hence on e commo n denominato r o f bot h figure s seem s t o b e

  hypocrisy:

  Poor dear lady, she had no children of her own. Her husband was dead.

  And she had no interest in life now save art, and the young people who

  created art. She was very rich, and it gave her pleasure to share her richness

  with beauty. Except that she was sometimes confused as to where beauty

  lay. ... She once turned down a garlic-smelling soprano-singing girl, who, a

  few years later, had all the critics in New York at her feet.21

  This passage reveals several central aspects of the narrative texture.

  The focu s o f interest , whic h is on Mrs . Ellsworth throughou t th e

  story, suggest s that Hughe s is primarily concerne d wit h depictin g

  the ignoranc e o f th e white philanthropist. This intention i s under-

  lined b y authoria l comment s which , althoug h sometime s quit e

  devastating, ar e seldom strongl y aggressive . Instead , Hughe s pities

  his whit e character , thereb y producin g th e particula r readin g

  process o f The Blues I'm Playing. B y underminin g th e cultura l

  status o f hi s protagonist an d exposin g th e absurdit y o f her judge-

  ments, Hughe s create s i n th e reader' s imagination th e illusio n o f

  witnessing th e forthcoming degradatio n of so-called superior white

  culture.

  Satire henc e set s th e emotiona l ton e throughou t th e story . It s

  function, autobiographically , i s to unveil the devastating influence

  that Hughes ' former patrones s had o n his creative impulses : "She

  wanted m e to b e primitive and know and feel the intuitions of the

  primitive. But , unfortunately , I di d no t fee l th e rhythm s o f th e

  primitive surgin g through me , and s o I could no t live and write as

  though I did."22 O n the cultural level, this conflict wa s representa-

  75

  tive o f a whol e rang e o f dilemma s tha t ha d emerge d durin g th e

  Harlem Renaissance . The black writers ' "search back to a national

  past,"23 thei r literar y journey of ethnic self-discovery, marked the

  beginning o f a declaratio n o f cultura l independence , whose para -

  digm may b e seen in Hughes' literary manifesto "Th e Negro Artist

  and th e Racia l Mountain. " Satir e a s employe d i n The Blues I'm

  Playing signals the end of white paternalism, thereby demystifyin g

  the 'cul t of the primitive Black' that many whites took for granted

  during the 1920's .

  This historica l conflic t i s reflected i n th e antagonisti c relation -

  ship o f Dor a Ellswort h an d he r blac k protegée, the pianist Oceola

  Jones. Bot h wome n represen t opposin g points o f view; this struc-

  tural contras t manifest s a clash betwee n "tw o standards of moral-

  ity," betwee n a "whit e an d a Negr o code." 24 Th e conflic t itsel f

  evolves throughout five stages, each dramatizing their incompatible

  positions: th e financia l sponsorshi p i s followe d b y increasin g

  efforts o n par t o f Mrs . Ellswort h t o dominat e th e privat e lif e o f

  her protegée; Oceola's return t o Harlem and the announcement of

  her engagement to a black medical student cause a severe crisis and

  finally lea d to a dissolving of their relationship.

  The mockin g iron y wit h whic h th e narrato r emphasize s Mrs
.

  Ellsworth's ignoranc e prevail s throug h al l these scenes . Her igno-

  rance o f ar t an d artist s is even excelled by her total lack of insight

  into blac k lif e and , i n particular , Harlem : "Befor e goin g to bed ,

  Mrs. Ellsworth told her housekeeper to order a book called 'Nigger

  Heaven' ... , an d als o anything els e .. . about Harlem. " (103 ) Her e

  Hughes tries not merel y t o unmask the fakery o f white patronage;

  he als o score s Car l Va n Vechten' s Nigger Heaven. Thi s novel ,

  published a t th e heigh t o f the Harlem Renaissance in 1926 , served

  as a kind of guide-book to Harlem for many white readers and was

  mostly rejecte d b y blacks . DuBois ' revie w perhap s sums up bes t

  the blac k reaction o f tha t time : " 'Nigger Heaven' is a blow in the

  face. I t i s a n affron t t o th e hospitalit y o f blac k folk . .. . I t i s a

  caricature. I t i s wors e tha n untrut h becaus e i t i s a mass of half -

  truths."25 Althoug h Hughes ' own criticis m of Nigger Heaven and

  Van Vechten was rathe r friendly, 26 th e satirica l connotatio n o f

  the passag e quote d abov e seem s to sugges t tha t b y 193 4 Hughes

  felt fre e enoug h d o denounc e Va n Vechten' s patronag e i n th e

  same way as he did that of his former Park Avenue patroness.

  Moreover, the same passage reveals another important feature of

  76

  Mrs. Ellsworth' s personality . He r relianc e o n book s instea d o f

  personal experience , he r preferenc e fo r a substitut e fo r reality ,

  demonstrates tha t sh e is unable to differentiate betwee n substance

  and appearance . Thi s failur e i s particularl y emphasize d i n th e

  scene where she drives Oceola to her Harlem home:

  Mrs. Ellsworth had to ask could she come in. "I live on the fifth floor,"

  said Oceola, and there isn't any elevator," "It doesn't matter, dear," said

  the white woman, for she meant to see the inside of this girl's life, elevator

  or no elevator. (105)

  Devoid o f an y emotiona l an d psychologica l perception , sh e mis-

  takes th e exterio r fo r th e interior , for m fo r being , an d thereb y

  reduces life t o a mere artefact. This attitude is equally apparent in

  her conception of art. Having substituted art for life, Mrs. Ellsworth,