by Peter Bruck
Institute, a Negr o colleg e — wa s "a shor t blac k man wit h bowe d
legs, a perfec t ellipsoida l skull , an d a n Arabi c fac e wit h a bi g
hooked nose." 2 Severa l year s afte r Chester's birth , th e famil y
moved t o Mississippi , wher e Professo r Hime s becam e hea d o f
Alcorn A & M's Mechanica l Department . Aroun d 191 7 Cheste r
Himes als o spen t a yea r i n Augusta , Georgia , whe n his mother
taught at the Haines Institute.
Chester and his brother Joe were educated at home until 1917 ;
both childre n wer e better educate d tha n mos t black s of th e same
age. I n 1921 , when Prof. Himes went t o Branc h Norma l College,
Pine Bluff, Arkansas , Joe an d Chester enrolled in the college, later
to b e know n a s Arkansa s A & M. Abou t a yea r later , Jo e wa s
blinded b y a chemistr y explosio n i n a school demonstration ; th e
family returne d t o St . Loui s in orde r t o ge t bette r treatmen t fo r
him. This episod e playe d a n importan t rol e i n Chester's develop -
ment an d h e devote d severa l long sections in th e firs t volum e of
his autobiograph y t o hi s closes t brother' s accident , subsequen t
reeducation an d success . I n 192 3 o r 1924 , motivate d b y unem -
85
ployment, racial inequality, and the inability of the Barnes Hospital
to furthe r hel p Joe , Prof . Hime s move d hi s family t o Cleveland ,
Ohio, where he had relatives.
In Januar y o f 1926 , due t o a clerical error, Cheste r Himes was
awarded hi s hig h schoo l diploma . I n orde r t o ear n mone y fo r
college, he took a job a s busboy a t Wad e Park Manor, where mal-
functioning elevato r door s cause d hi m t o fal l abou t fort y fee t
down an empty elevator shaft; the result was three broken vertebrae,
a broke n jaw , shattere d teeth , a broke n lef t ar m an d a ruptured
urethral canal . Hospita l expense s wer e pai d b y th e Ohi o Stat e
Industrial Commission, as well as a pension.
In Septembe r 192 6 Hime s entere d Ohi o Stat e Universit y i n
Columbus. H e quickl y tire d o f university , and b y th e en d o f th e
second quarte r wa s allowe d "t o withdra w fo r reason s o f 'il l
health'" (Himes , p. 31). On his return t o Cleveland, he was intro-
duced t o gamblin g and, in 1928 , participated i n his first burglary .
Himes' family wa s breaking up — hi s parents' quarrels , which had
been goin g o n fo r years , wer e becomin g mor e violen t — an d h e
seemed t o see k securit y an d relief from emotiona l pressures in the
gambling halls , wit h prostitutes , an d i n burglary . " I discovere d
that I had become very violent," writes Himes in his Autobiography
(p. 47) ; b y th e en d o f 192 8 he had bee n arreste d i n Chicag o fo r
first-degree arme d robbery . Sentence d t o twenty-to-twenty-fiv e
years of hard labor, Himes served only seven-and-a-half years of his
sentence, in the Ohio State Penitentiary; here he began to write.
In 193 6 Hime s marrie d hi s firs t wife , Jean , i n Cleveland . H e
wrote a fe w shor t stories , an d wrot e fo r th e WPA and th e Ohi o
Writers' Project . Sometim e afte r th e beginnin g o f th e Secon d
World War , perhaps in 1940 , Himes and his wife travelled by Grey-
hound t o Lo s Angeles . (If He Hollers Let Him Go concerns thi s
period i n his life.) Fou r year s later he travelle d eas t t o New York
City.
The nex t tw o year s wer e spen t i n Californi a an d o n th e Eas t
Coast, Hime s going from job to job, supported mostly by his wife.
Lonely Crusade was publishe d i n 194 7 and, with th e tota l rejec -
tion o f th e book , a.five-year-lon g writer' s bloc k se t in. By 195 2
Himes' marriage to Jean had broken up, and in 195 3 he finally lef t
America fo r France . The last twenty years have been spent mostly
in Europe — with infrequent trip s to the United States — mainly in
France an d i n Spain ; Himes and his second wife , Lesley , travel a
86
lot, frequentl y t o escap e othe r "expatriate " blac k writers , an d
have recently complete d a villa in Alicante, Spain .
These biographica l fact s ar e o f importanc e fo r a write r suc h a s
Chester Himes , especiall y sinc e Rober t Bon e assign s hi m t o th e
"Wright School," 3 a 1940' s "urba n realism " movement. 4 Th e
following quot e explain s th e nee d fo r autobiographica l conten t i n
Himes' writings and th e role o f th e Wright School .
For th e Wrigh t School , literatur e is an emotional catharsis — a means of
dispelling the inner tensions of race. Their novels often amoun t to a pro-
longed cr y o f anguis h an d despair . Too close to their material, feeling it
too intensely , thes e novelist s lac k a sense o f for m an d of thematic line.
With rare exceptions, their style consists of a brutal realism, devoid of any
love, or even respect, for words. Their characterization is essentially socio-
logical, bu t it may contain a greater attempt a t psychological dept h than
is usuall y associate d wit h th e naturalisti c novel . Thei r principa l theme ,
reminiscent o f Sherwoo d Anderson , i s how th e America n cast e syste m
breeds "grotesques. " Th e whit e audience, on perceiving its responsibility
for th e pligh t o f th e protagonist, is expected t o alter its attitude toward
race.5
Bone als o comment s tha t "man y o f thes e author s serve d thei r
literary apprenticeshi p a s newspaper writers." 6
Wright wa s th e firs t blac k t o approac h th e situatio n o f th e
urban Blac k naturalistically. 7 Th e Wrigh t Schoo l movemen t fol -
lowed a decad e afte r th e socia l protes t expresse d mos t frequentl y
in the America n nove l in the Depression years. Not only a journalist,
"Himes, lik e Wright , i s a produc t o f th e Grea t Depression , o f
association wit h th e labo r movement, th e Federa l Writers' Project ,
and th e Communis t Party." 8 Whitlo w comment s tha t "Mos t o f
the writer s o f th e movemen t ar e mediocre." 9 Joh n A . Williams ,
however, state s tha t "Hime s i s perhap s th e singl e greatest natural -
istic American write r living today." 10
Himes' "si x majo r novels " are as follows: If He Hollers Let Him
Go (1945) ; Lonely Crusade (1947) ; The Third Generation (1954) ;
The Primitive (1955) ; Cast the First Stone (1952) , an d Pinktoes
(1961/62 an d 1965). 11 In 196 6 Hime s wrot e tha t "th e Negr o
novelist, mor e tha n an y other , i s faced wit h thi s necessity [t o fin d
justification fo r existence] . H e mus t discove r fro m hi s experience s
the trut h o f hi s oppresse d existenc e i n term s tha t wil l provid e
some meanin g t o hi s life. Why he is here; why h e continues t o live.
In fact, thi s writer's subject matte r i s in reality a Negro's search fo r
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truth."12 Th e firs t tw o novel s — bot h highl y autobiographica l —
deal wit h race , sex , an d th e labor movemen t o f th e 1940's . (In
Volume 1 , Boo k 1 , Sectio n 2 o f The Quality of Hurt, h e write s
about th e compositio n an d backgroun d o f thes e tw o books. ) The
next thre e n
ovel s advance alon g the sam e lines: autobiographical ,
racial, sexual . Himes writes not onl y o f th e plac e o f th e Blac k in
American (western ) society , but o f humanity in a diseased world .
Of the six, only Pink toes has had any real commercial succes.
Pinktoes, whic h wa s first publishe d i n Pari s as Mamie Mason, is
a sometime s successfu l satir e o n race . Compare d t o th e othe r
"serious" novels , i t i s th e leas t well-writte n bu t als o th e leas t
violent. I t i s at time s funny, thi s stor y o f an up-and-coming black
Harlem hostess , whos e sexua l adventure s ar e probably th e sellin g
point o f th e book . (Hime s seems to hav e added sexua l scene s fo r
the America n editio n o f th e book ; he claim s the publisher s asked
for more explicitness.)13
Against thes e novel s can b e set th e nin e more successfu l — and
much mor e readabl e — "detective " novels . Strangel y enough , all
but on e o f th e nin e wer e firs t publishe d in France, in French: th e
first, La Reine des Pommes (Séri e Noire-Gallimard , 1957), wo n
the Prix du Roman Policier in 195 8 and appeare d i n th e Unite d
States a s For Love of Immabelle i n 1959 ; th e latest , Blind Man
with a Pistol, was published in 1969 .
Coffin E d Smit h an d Gravedigge r Jones , th e "heroes " o f th e
novels, ar e tw o blac k cop s i n Harlem . The y ar e tough , violent ,
hated, feared , an d beaten-u p b y th e black s amon g who m the y
work. The y twis t th e la w to kee p th e law , sometimes eve n com -
mitting crime s t o catc h th e ba d guy . Th e novel s ar e al l se t i n
Harlem, and , wit h th e possibl e exceptio n o f Blind Man with a
Pistol, are relatively eas y t o read . Himes captures i n his prose the
spirit o f Harle m — th e violence, the brutality, the simple joys, the
sexuality ... . It i s in thes e books , not i n his more serious attempts
as a writer , tha t hi s talen t i s revealed. 14 Description s o f street -
corner preachers , lesbia n strippers , transvestit e "sisters, " sleaz y
prostitutes — description s o f th e street , wit h it s thousands o f dif-
ferent character s an d th e ever-presen t possibilit y fo r violenc e —
jerk an d jiv e int o rea l life . Th e dialogu e i s a mixtur e o f Blac k
English, undergroun d slang , dop e colloquialisms , blac k dialects ,
and patois. Eve n th e smalles t detail s ar e not to o small for Himes:
pages are devoted , fo r example, t o th e different eatin g places and
88
to th e differen t kind s o f foo d i n Harlem . I t i s a terribl e worl d
Himes i s presenting, filled wit h sex and violence, and the energy o f
Harlem lif e i s caugh t o n ever y page . Thi s craz y life whic h is ofte n
out o f contro l i s controlle d b y Himes : th e plot s work ; eac h ma d
incident someho w fit s into the story being unfolded, eac h mystery
is someho w solved , eac h ba d gu y i s caught , o r killed , o r maimed ,
or punished. The violenc e whic h i s alway s ther e suddenly abrupt s
into blood , an d th e bloo d flow s unti l someho w th e boo k — thi s
one inciden t bein g related , no t th e violenc e an d no t Harle m -
comes to an end. As Himes would say, the books are "titillating."15
It i s i n thi s settin g tha t on e ca n approac h th e shor t stories . I n
Himes' "Foreword" to Black on Black h e writes the following :
These writings are admittedly chauvinistic. You will conclude if you read
them that BLACK PROTEST and BLACK HETEROSEXUALITY are my
two chief obsessions.
And you wil l b e right. I am a sensualist, I love beautiful people, I have
SOUL. At the same time I am extremely sensitive to all the humiliations
and preconceptions Black Americans are heir to. But I think my talent is
sufficient t o rende r thes e chauvinisti c writing s interesting , o r a t leas t
provoking....
With the exception of "Tang," which I wrote in Alicante in 1967 when my
thoughts had concentrated on a BLACK REVOLUTION, I wrote the first
nine shor t storie s durin g the Depressio n o f the nineteen thirties and the
first year s of the Second World War.
I wrote the last short story, "Prediction," in Alicante in 196 9 after I had
become firmly convinced tha t th e onl y chanc e Blac k American s had of
attaining justive an d equalit y i n th e Unite d State s o f Americ a was by
violence.16
Many of th e stories appear in varied forms in the detective novels,
as d o man y o f Himes ' earl y characters. 17 Th e preache r i n "Por k
Chop Paradise " (1938 ) appear s i n som e for m i n ever y Harle m
novel; in th e short story th e preacher is recognized a s God because
he feed s hi s peopl e wit h por k chops . I n th e novel s h e use s othe r
ploys t o mak e mone y o r t o becom e God , bu t h e i s stil l th e
preacher wh o "carrie d hi s pulpi t about in his hand and set it upo n
street corner s an d wrestled with the sin of the world as ardently as
if he, himself, ha d been forever sinless" (p. 165) .
He rocked his congregations, he scared them, he startled them if by nothing
89
else excep t hi s colossa l ignorance , he browbeat them , he lulled them, he
caressed them . H e mad e hardene d convict s wan t t o shout , h e mad e
gambling addicts repent and give away their ill-gotten gains and stay away
from th e game s fo r tw o o r thre e whol e days . He played upo n people' s
emotions. His voice was like a throbbing tom-tom, creeping into a person's
mind lik e an insidious drug, blasting the wits out o f the witty an d fillin g
the hearts of the witless with visions of everlasting bounty.
It ha d a n indescribabl e range , sliding throug h octaves with the ease of a
master organ . I t wa s like a journey o n a scenic railway , droppin g fro m
notes as clear and high as Satchmo ever hit on his golden trumpet, like the
sudden, startling dive of a pursuit plane, to the reverberating roar of heavy
artillery. You could see hell, in all its lurid fury, following in its wake, and
then wit h a s abrupt a change th e voic e too k you to green pastures lush
with manna, (p. 164)
In "Por k Cho p Paradise " Hime s explore s th e personalit y o f "a n
illiterate blac k man" (p . 161);i n "Headwaiter " (1938;pp . 144-60 )
that o f a blac k headwaite r willin g t o d o anythin g t o pleas e th e
white customers , i n "Da-Da-Dee " (1948 , pp . 267-74 ) a drunke n
writer. "T o th e Negr o write r wh o woul d plum b th e dept h o f th e
Negro personality , ther e i s n o questio n o f whethe r Negroe s hat e
white peopl e — bu t ho w doe s thi s hatre d affec t th e Negro' s
personality? Ho w muc h o f himsel f i s destroye d b y thi s necessit y
to hat e thos e wh o oppres s him ? Certainl y hat e i s a destructiv e
emotion. I n th e cas e o f th e Negro , hate i s doubly destructive . Th e
American Negr o experience s tw o form s o f hate . H e hate s first hi s
oppressor, an d the n becaus e he lives in constant fea r o f thi s hatre d
being discovered , he hates himself — because o f thi s fear."18 Thes e
sentences, writte n i n 1966 , coul d b e a desc
riptio n o f Himes '
"A Nigger, " written i n 1937 .
There ar e autobiographica l element s i n "Nigger" : th e setting ,
for example , i s Cleveland , Ohio , probabl y sometim e betwee n
1935 an d 1937 . Jo e Wolf , a write r betwee n 2 4 an d 2 6 year s old ,
goes t o visi t his mistress Fay afte r he r common-la w husban d leave s
for th e afternoon . Mr . Shelton , Fay' s whit e John , appear s o n th e
scene, and Jo e is forced t o hide in the clothes closet. As Mr. Shelton
leaves, he opens the close t doo r b y mistake, Joe think s he has bee n
seen and , whe n Fa y return s t o th e room , erupt s int o violence .
After h e escape s t o hi s room , eigh t block s away, Joe realizes he is
an Uncle Tom .
The mos t interestin g element s o f " A Nigger " ar e neithe r th e
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simple plo t lin e no r th e narrativ e technique s employe d bu t th e
main character' s reaction s t o th e situation . Fa y i s "kep t b y a rich
white Joh n ou t o f Shake r Heights , an d livin g wit h a fine-looking,
hard-working, tal l yello w bo y o n th e sid e wh o dumpe d hi s pay -
check t o he r a s regula r a s i t came , the n cheatin g o n the m bot h
with thi s broke , ragge d lunge r wh o claime d h e wa s som e kin d o f
writer o r poe t o r something " (p . 125) . Himes' ironic view of wha t
is possibl y a recreatio n o f himself continue s throughou t th e piece ,
communicated no t onl y throug h th e narrator' s retellin g o f th e
events bu t als o throug h Joe' s interpretatio n o f wha t occurs . Joe' s
first reaction , i n "th e cluttere d closet " (p . 126) , i s "laughingly ,
what a bitchV (p . 126) . Mr . Shelton' s voic e i s "smu g an d con -
descendingly possessive, " an d Jo e think s "why, you old bastard"
(p. 126) . Mr . Shelto n i s goin g East , an d want s t o leav e enoug h
money fo r Fay , wh o secretl y use s i t t o suppor t Joe , thu s makin g
him indirectl y dependen t on Mr. Shelton .
Joe begin s t o ge t angr y whe n h e hear s Mr . Shelto n insistin g o n
the sam e respec t fo r Mrs . Shelto n tha t Fa y demand s fro m Jo e fo r
Mr. Shelton . Th e dialogu e betwee n th e Joh n an d Fa y i s a sugar y
parody o f a lovers ' dialogue . Whil e Mr . Shelto n complain s abou t
