by Peter Bruck
like Paulin e Attenborough , become s a self-made objet d'art; her
stress merely o n the refining, cultivating, and sublimating functio n
of ar t no t onl y separate s art fro m Ufe , but als o deprives it o f its'
vitality and reduces it to a dead object .
Mrs. Ellsworth' s attitude s contras t wit h Oceola' s characte r an d
music. Havin g grow n u p i n th e musica l traditio n o f th e blac k
church, Oceola' s lif e i s firml y roote d i n jaz z an d th e blues . Her
music, which derives its strength from her cultural identity, distinct-
ly set s he r apar t fro m Dor a Ellsworth , wh o conceive s o f ar t a s
essentially classical . The evolvin g conflict thu s center s around the
clash o f tw o antagonisti c mode s o f art , whic h ar e simultaneousl y
representative o f tw o antagonistic modes of life. In contrast to her
patroness' understandin g o f music , Oceol a ha s kep t a n origina l
sense of it, one that "demanded movement and expression, dancing
and livin g to g o with it." (111 ) As an initial, spontaneous expres-
sion o f blac k life an d experience , th e blue s is devoid o f "classical
runs o r fanc y falsities. " (110) Rather, it becomes, as Ralph Ellison
once remarked, a form o f individual therapy:
The blues is an impulse to keep the painful details and episodes of a brutal
experience alive in one's aching consciousness, to finger its jagged grain,
and to transcend it, not b y consolation o f philosophy but by squeezing
from it a near-tragic, near-comic lyricism. As a form, the blues is an auto-
biographical chronicl e o f persona l catastroph e expresse d lyrically .
Oceola's music hence becomes not only an assertion and definitio n
of he r identity; it als o links her, culturally , t o tha t chain of black
77
folklore tradition, which , as Ellison has pointed out , "announce d
the Negro' s willingnes s t o trus t thi s ow n experience , hi s ow n
sensibilities a s t o th e definitio n o f reality , rathe r tha n allo w hi s
masters t o defin e thes e crucia l matter s fo r him." 28 Oceola' s
"sheer lov e of jazz" (107) , her hatred o f "mos t artists,... and the
word ar t i n French o r English, " (10 9 give s voic e t o a n attitud e
which consider s musi c a manifestation o f a n experience d reality ,
thus merging both art and life. Her contempt fo r a philosophy tha t
separates thes e tw o arise s ou t o f he r prima l emphasi s o n th e
affirmative an d virile nature of music:
Oeceola's background was too well-grounded in Mobile, and Billy Kersand's
Minstrels, and the Sanctifie d Churche s where religion was a joy, to stare
mystically over the top of a grand piano like white folks and imagine that
Beethoven had nothing to do with life, or that Schubert's love songs were
only sublimations. (111)
The "bipartit e structure" 28 o f thi s story , emphasizing two oppos-
ing ethnic codes and philosophies of art, is also equally apparent in
the differen t geographica l setting s o f th e various scenes. From the
very beginnin g o f thei r relationship , th e Par k Avenu e patrones s
tries t o alienat e Oceol a fro m Harlem : " I mus t ge t he r ou t o f
Harlem a t once . I believe it's wors e tha n Chinatown. " (105 ) He r
efforts finall y resul t i n Oceola' s moving to Greenwich Village, and
then fo r tw o years ' stud y t o Paris . Th e effect s o f he r traini g in
classical music ar e not, however, a s sublimating a s Mrs. Ellsworth
had hoped . Returnin g fro m Paris , Oceol a i s determine d mor e
firmly tha n eve r not t o giv e up the black musical tradition. This is
especially show n i n he r decisio n t o mov e bac k t o Harlem : "I'v e
been awa y fro m m y own people so long, I want to live right in the
middle o f the m again. " (115 ) Thi s symboli c rediscover y o f he r
heritage, induce d b y a sta y i n Paris , i s on e o f th e earlies t blac k
reiterations o f th e Jamesia n pattern . Fo r i t i s i n Europ e tha t
Oceola, t o paraphras e a titl e o f on e o f Jame s Baldwin' s essays ,
makes the discovery of what it means to be black.
The differen t setting s hence expres s metaphorically th e various
stages o f thei r relationship. The symbolic confrontation o f Harlem
with Greenwic h Villag e and Paris ultimately demonstrate s that th e
conflict i s again dramatize d o n a personal a s well as cultural plane.
Her retur n t o Harle m signal s th e attemp t t o preserv e he r blac k
cultural identity . Significantl y enough , i t i s onl y afte r sh e ha s
78
accepted he r lover's proposal tha t Oceol a at a concert in a Harlem
church suddenl y live s u p t o he r ow n musica l intention s b y "no t
sticking t o th e classica l items listed o n th e program," for now she
is able to "insert one of her own variations on the spirituals." (115)
The inevitabl e separatio n o f Oceol a an d Mrs . Ellswort h take s
place on e evenin g in th e patroness ' apartment , wher e Oceol a had
come t o play for the last time "with the techniques for which Mrs.
Ellsworth ha d paid. " (118 ) Again , th e conflic t i s described i n the
contrasting image s tha t ar e representativ e o f th e tw o differen t
cultural spheres . Dor a Ellsworth' s positio n i s almos t entirel y
linked wit h exquisite , thoug h lifeles s antiqu e objects , evokin g the
impression o f he r emotiona l sterilit y an d deadness . These objects,
acting a s objectiv e correlative s o f he r emotiona l state , cannot b e
reconciled wit h life . Th e vital , life-promisin g natur e o f Oceola' s
music, whic h gre w "int o a n earth-throbbin g rhyth m tha t shoo k
the lilie s i n th e Persia n vase s o f Mrs . Ellsworth' s musi c room, "
(119) ultimatel y expose s he r limite d poin t o f vie w an d suggest s
the final triumph, as it were, of black over white culture.
Because o f he r limite d poin t o f view , Dora Ellswort h remain s
unchanged. Eve n thoug h sh e i s dresse d a t th e en d i n th e sam e
black velve t tha t Oceol a use d t o wear , Emanuel' s reading this as
"a symboli c fusio n o f hersel f an d he r protegée" 30 seem s to be an
unwarranted conjecture . Rather , th e story' s endin g call s fo r a
reading whic h view s th e tw o unreconcile d position s a s a re-em -
phasis o f "th e them e o f cultura l dualis m whic h i s basi c t o th e
Harlem Renaissance"31 an d Hughes' position therein .
Oceola's self-consciou s revol t agains t he r patroness , which ha s
strong autobiographica l parallels, 32 underline s historicall y th e
black's incipient ethni c assertion , hi s prid e i n hi s rac e an d th e
rediscovery o f hi s cultura l heritage . Withi n thi s cultural context ,
The Blues I'm Playing may b e considere d a twofold satire . One of
its objectives , o f course , i s t o unmas k th e hypocris y o f whit e
patronage. I n additio n t o this , th e philosoph y o f blac k cultura l
elitism an d th e 'Ne w Negro ' seems to b e equally under attack. By
refuting th e 'hig h culture ' o f th e Renaissanc e champions , Hughe s
satirizes throug h hi s fictional characte r thos e attempt s t o bridg e
&n
bsp; the ga p between th e tw o race s by mean s o f art . Fo r thi s must, as
he demonstrate s throug h Oceola , inevitably lea d t o servility and a
loss o f blac k identity . I n contras t t o Emanuel' s genera l dictu m
that "Hughe s as a writer canno t b e explained by references to the
79
Harlem Renaissance," 33 thi s particular short story echoes, both on
the autobiographica l an d cultura l plane , historica l problems tha t
were firml y roote d i n thi s period ; thu s Hughes ' delienatio n o f
Oceola ma y ultimatel y b e conceived a s a fictional representatio n
of hi s own literar y manifest o an d th e stor y a s a satirical reactio n
to the Harlem Renaissance .
Within the bulk of Hughes' sixty-six published short stories, The
Blues I'm Playing hold s a uniqu e position . I n keepin g wit h
Emanuel, wh o classifie d Hughes ' shor t fictio n thematically , thi s
story turn s ou t t o b e his only genuine artist story. It marks one of
Hughes' outstandin g achievement s i n thi s genr e an d establishe d
him a s a serious writer of satirical short fiction. Most stories in the
collection The Ways of White Folk ar e retrospective, looking back
to th e 1920' s an d tryin g t o unvei l man y o f th e manifestation s o f
the Harlem Renaissance . The date of publication, however, suggests
a further significance . For the year 193 4 signals the end of Hughes'
early phase . As Bone observed : "apar t fro m a flurry o f activity in
1941, h e neve r mad e a sustained effor t i n th e genr e again . .. . In
point o f fact , mos t o f Hughes ' significant productio n i n the short
story for m fall s withi n th e chronologica l limit s o f th e Harle m
Renaissance."34
Despite favorabl e reviews , the firs t issu e o f The Ways of White
Folk sol d onl y 250 0 copies. 35 Thi s meagr e succes s ma y b e ac -
counted fo r no t onl y b y th e fac t tha t Hughe s had not yet gained,
as h e wa s t o d o late r wit h hi s "Simpl e Tales, " a genuin e blac k
reading audience; the commercial failure also seems to demonstrate
that wit h th e en d o f th e Harle m Renaissanc e th e potentia l whit e
audience n o longe r share d a large r enthusias m i n blac k literar y
products. Fro m a historical and socio-literary perspective, however,
the stories of The Ways of White Folk cause d a major breakthrough
in pavin g th e wa y fo r a raciall y unrestricte d audience . B y re -
examining th e black-whit e relationship s o f th e 1920' s an d b y
unmasking th e falsenes s o f th e enthusias m o f white s for the 'New
Negro,' Hughe s "clarifie d fo r th e Negr o audienc e thei r ow n
strength an d dignit y an d .. . supplie d th e whit e audienc e wit h an
explanation o f ho w th e Negr o feel s an d wha t h e wants." 36 Si x
years after th e publicatio n o f thi s collection , Richar d Wright, in a
review o f Hughes' autobiography The Big Sea, perhaps summed up
the importanc e o f th e earl y work s o f Hughe s best . I n hi s eyes ,
Hughes, o n accoun t o f hi s extensiv e publications , ha d serve d a s
80
a "cultural ambassador for the case of the blacks."
NOTES
1. Accordin g t o th e publishe r Alfre d A. Knopf, Van Vechten used to be his
sole adviso r o n blac k literature . Cf . Alfre d A . Knopf , "Reminiscence s o f
Hergesheimer, Va n Vechten and Mencken," Yale University Library Gazette,
24 (April, 1950) , 150-157 .
2. Donal d C. Dickinson, A Bio-Bibliography of Langston Hughes 1902-1967
(Hamden, Conn., 1972) , p. 25.
3. Natha n Irvi n Huggins , Harlem Renaissance (Oxford/Ne w York , 1971) ,
p. 57.
4. Alai n Locke, "The New Negro," in Abraham Chapman, ed.,Black Voices:
An Anthology o f Afro-American Literature (Ne w York, 1968) , p. 523.
5. Ibid.,p. 518 .
6. Charle s S . Johnson , "Th e Negr o Renaissanc e an d it s Significance, " i n
Rayford Loga n et.al, edd., The New Negro Thirty Years Afterward (Washing -
ton, D.C., 1955), p. 83.
7. Langsto n Hughes , "Th e Negr o Artis t an d th e Racia l Mountain, " The
Nation (Jul y 23 , 1926) , reprinte d i n Joh n A . Williams , ed. , Amistad 1:
Writings on Black History and Culture (New York, 1970) , p. 304.
8. Langsto n Hughes, The Big Sea (New York, 1963) , pp. 267-268.
9. Se e James A. Emanuel, "The Literary Experiments of Langston Hughes,"
in Therma n B . O'Daniel , ed. , Langston Hughes Black Genius: A Critical
Evaluation (New York, 1971) , 171-182 .
10. Bernhar d Ostendorf , "Blac k Poetry , Blues , an d Folklore : Doubl e Con -
sciousness i n Afro-America n Ora l Culture," Amerikastudien, 2 0 (1975), 250.
11. Blyde n Jackson , " A Word about Simple, " in Therma n B . O'Daniel, ed. ,
Langston Hughes Black Genius, p. 110.
12. Langsto n Hughes , / Wonder As I Wander: An Autobiographical Journey
(New York, 1956) , p. 5.
13. Margare t Perry, Silence To The Drums: A Survey of the Literature of the
Harlem Renaissance (Westport, Conn., 1976) , p. 45.
14. Hughes , I Wonder As I Wander, p. 213.
15. Rober t Bone , Down Home: A History of Afro-American Short Fiction
from its Beginning to the End of the Harlem Renaissance (New York, 1975) ,
p. 247.
16. Thi s fac t i s reporte d b y Donal d C . Dickinson , A Bio-Bibliography of
Langston Hughes, pp. 75-76.
81
17. Hughes, I Wonder As I Wander, p. 5.
18. D.H. Lawrence, "Th e Lovel y Lady, " Love Among The Haystacks And
Other Stories (Harmondsworth, 1960), p. 49.
19. Ibid.
20. Kingsle y Widmer, The Art o f Perversity: D.H. Lawrence's Shorter Fiction
(Seattle, 1962), p. 96.
21. Langsto n Hughes , "Th e Blue s I' m Playing, " The Ways of White Folk
(New York , 1971) , pp. 96-97 (All page numbers in parenthesis refer t o this
Vintage edition).
22. Hughes , The Big Sea,p. 325.
23. Perry , Silence To The Drums, p. 14.
24. Bone, Down Home, p. 253.
25. W.E.B . DuBois , "Va n Vechten' s 'Nigge r Heaven, ' " The Crisis (1926) ,
reprinted i n Arthu r P . Davis an d Michae l W. Peplow, edd., The New Negro
Renaissance: An Anthology (Ne w York, 1975) , p. 193 ; contemporary criti-
cism has particularly been voiced by Addison Gayle, Jr., The Way Of The New
World: The Black Novel In America (Garden City, 1976), pp. 104-110.
26. A s Hughes recalls in his first autobiography: "In his novel Mr. Van Vechten
presents man y o f th e problem s o f the Negroes of Harlem, and he writes of
the people of culture as well as the people of the night clubs. He presents the
problem o f a youn g Negr o novelis t face d wit h th e discrimination s o f th e
white editorial offices. And he writes sympathetically and amusingly and well
about a whole rainbow of life abov e 110t h street that had never before been
put into the color of words." The Big Sea, p. 211.
27. Ralp h Ellison, "Richard Wright's Blues," Shadow & Act (London , 1967),
pp. 78-79.
28. Ralp h Ellison , "Th e Ar t o f Fiction : A n Interview, " Shadow & Act,
p. 172.
29. Bone, Down Home, p. 253.
30. Jame s A. Emanuel, Lang
ston Hughes (New York, 1967), p. 142.
31. Bone , Down Home, p. 257.
32. Beside s those already mentioned, note the incident where Hughes throws
all his books into the sea, thus symbolically freein g himsel f fro m hi s 'white'
past. The Big Sea, pp. 34.
33. Emanuel , Langston Hughes, p. 30.
34. Bone, Down Home, p. 256.
35. Thi s figure i s give n b y Donal d C . Dickinson , A Bio-Bibliography of
Langston Hughes, p. 130.
36. Ibid., p . 115 .
37. Richar d Wright, "Review of Th e Bi g Sea,'" New Republic, 53 (October
28,1940), 600.
82
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Short story collections:
The Ways of White Folk. New York, 1934.
Laughing to Keep From Crying. Ne w York, 1952.
Something in Common and Other Stories. Ne w York, 1963.
The mos t comprehensiv e informatio n o n Hughes ' primar y work s an d o n
secondary sources devoted to him can be found in:
Therman B . O'Daniel, "Langsto n Hughes: A Selected Classified Bibliog -
raphy," i n O'Daniel , ed. , Langston Hughes Black Genius: A Critical
Evaluation. Ne w York, 1971.
Donald C. Dickinson, A Bio-Bibliography of Langston Hughes 1902-1967.
Hamden, Conn., 1972.
83
Maureen Liston
CHESTER HIMES
A NIGGER
(1937)
Chester Himes is perhaps best known as the creator of Grave Digger
and Coffin Ed . That he has also written and published short stories,
a play , essays , novel s othe r tha n detective , an d a two-volum e
autobiography i s littl e known , sav e t o Blac k writer s an d Blac k
literature scholars . Durin g his writing career — whic h span s some
forty-plus year s — Hime s has published "six major novels";1 som e
twenty-two shor t stories in periodicals; a series of detective novels;
essays o n a variet y o f subjects ; an d a collection includin g a fil m
scenario a s wel l a s shor t storie s an d essays , som e o f whic h ha d
been printe d earlie r i n Esquire, Coronet, Crisis, Opportunity an d
Negro Study.
Born 2 9 Jul y 190 9 in Jefferso n City , Missouri, Chester Himes
was th e youngest o f thre e sons . His mother wa s an octoroon ; his
father, Professo r Josep h Sand y Hime s — teache r a t th e Lincol n
