The Black American Short Story in the 20th Century

by Peter Bruck

  Hernton, Lillia n Smith , Grac e Halsel l an d man y other s hav e trie d

  to analys e th e comple x hidde n relation s betwee n racis m an d

  sexuality, Richar d Wrigh t an d Jame s Baldwi n hav e time and again

  dealt with the pernicious stereotype of the black man as a 'walking

  phallic symbol, ' an d Eldridg e Cleave r ha s invented th e legen d o f

  the 'Omnipoten t Administrator ' an d th e 'Supermasculin e Menial '

  to accoun t fo r th e genesi s o f thi s cliché.11 Thi s whol e comple x

  serves as the necessar y backgroun d t o "SiA," where, for want of a

  better term , th e shor t relationshi p o f Ka y wit h Wendel l could b e

  labelled 'pinktoes. ' Thi s term , whic h i n blac k usag e denote s " a

  black man' s whit e gir l friend ; a whit e girl," 12 wa s give n wide r

  currency when , i n 1961 , Cheste r Hime s publishe d hi s nove l

  Pinktoes and , i n th e motto , offere d th e followin g definition :

  "Pinktoes i s a term of indulgent affection applie d to white women

  by Negr o men , an d sometime s conversel y b y Negr o wome n t o

  white men, but never adversely by either.13

  Ironically enough, in "SiA" it is the socially sanctioned relation-

  ship between whit e chil d an d black mammy which calls forth, fo r

  151

  a brief period , the sociall y tabooe d o r at leas t frowned-upon rela -

  tionship betwee n whit e woma n an d blac k man . A s the text , be-

  cause o f it s point o f view, offers n o reliabl e clue to Kay's motive,

  one migh t argu e tha t Kay , bein g drun k an d thu s free d o f he r

  inhibitions, is just a victim o f her sexua l curiosit y arouse d b y the

  myth o f th e blac k man's potency and thus becomes the unwitting

  object o f Wendell's cunning advances. The symmetry of the story,

  however, is so perfect i n al l other respects that a different readin g

  seems worth considering.

  Kay coul d wel l have a revenge motive of her own, and if so, she

  would no t onl y b e use d b y Wendel l bu t woul d als o be tryin g t o

  use hi m a s well . Whe n sh e come s home , sh e goe s t o loo k fo r

  Ronnie, "th e poo r kid " (235) . Obviousl y sh e doe s no t fee l lik e

  fulfilling a mother's duty — Wendell has to remind her that "Ronnie

  isn't feelin g well " (235) — an d i s glad to have Nora. But when she

  comes back, she has to confes s tha t "Nor a wa s trying t o pu t him

  to slee p an d she made me stay out" (23 5f.), and her giggling could

  be a sig n o f he r embarrassmen t abou t suc h a situation. Would i t

  not b e quit e probable , then, tha t Ka y is offended b y the fact tha t

  Ronnie prefer s hi s nursemaid t o hi s mother an d that she has been

  sent awa y lik e a strange r an d therefor e envie s Nor a he r succes s

  with Ronnie ? Nor a has taken away her son Ronnie, and could not

  Kay, who is drunk and quite uninhibited, try to get her revenge by

  getting back a t Nor a an d takin g awa y Nora' s son Wendell? Such a

  reading o f "SiA, " whic h woul d fin d som e additiona l extrinsi c

  support i n th e fac t tha t th e motiv e o f mutua l revenge as the basis

  of a n interracial lov e affai r i s a recurring motif i n Williams' earl y

  fiction,14 woul d g o well wit h the fact that both have a fair chance

  of winnin g their game . In the end Wendell proves victorious, for it

  is no t Nora , a s migh t wel l hav e bee n expected , wh o enter s th e

  living roo m t o find he r so n i n th e embrac e o f he r mistress, but

  Ronnie wh o sees the 'ignominy ' o f hi s mother i n th e arm s of the

  aggressive black stranger . An d Wendell' s statement tha t Ka y "was

  reaching fo r Ronnie' s hand as we left, but the kid was slapping her

  hand away " (237) , confirms tha t hi s calculation ha s proved right

  and tha t h e has probably manage d t o subjec t Ronni e t o a shock

  he wil l no t forget . Wendell , however, canno t b e happy abou t hi s

  ingeniously contrive d victory , fo r on e canno t und o one' s ow n

  humiliations b y humiliatin g somebod y else. This final conciliator y

  — an d perhap s mos t importan t — messag e o f "SiA " is obliquel y

  152

  expressed i n Wendell' s statement , " I fel t man y things , but I made

  myself [! ] thin k mostly , There, you little bastard, there" (237) .

  And i n the final , ambiguou s sentence o f th e stor y in which Wendell

  says tha t h e wa s "hatin g th e lon g driv e bac k t o Watts " (237) on e

  might legitimatel y detec t th e first dawnin g o f tha t ver y "hatre d

  for myself ' (233 ) which , accordin g t o a previou s statemen t b y

  Wendell th e narrator , Wendel l th e protagonis t i s stil l "to o angr y

  to feel " (233) .

  *

  In spit e o f it s sometime s rathe r slic k qualit y an d it s almos t to o

  perfectly contrive d contrast s an d parallel s "SiA, " whic h com -

  presses centra l aspect s o f racia l relation s i n Americ a int o a small -

  scale every-da y action , is a compelling an d finall y convincin g stor y

  which bear s testimon y t o Williams ' belie f tha t onl y " a smoot h

  vehicle deliver s a clear message."15

  NOTES

  1. Quote d i n Ear l A . Cash , John A. Williams: The Evolution of a Black

  Writer (New York, 1975), p. 93.

  2. "Introductio n t o th e Firs t Edition, " i n Joh n A . Williams, ed., Beyond

  the Angry Black (New York, 1971), p. xvii. (Mentor Book MY 1058)

  3. Cf . especially Ralph' s reflections i n Sissie (New York, 1963) , pp. 245f.,

  with the respective reflections of Wendell in "SiA."

  4. Th e stor y i s included, for example, in: Langsto n Hughes, ed., The Best

  Short Stories by Negro Writers: An Anthology from 1899 to the Present

  (Boston, 1967) ; James A. Emanuel and Theodore L . Gross, edd., Dark Sym-

  phony: Negro Literature in America (New York, 1968); Penney Chapin Hills

  and L . Rust Hills , edd., How We Live (New York, 1968) ; Edward Margolies,

  A Native Sons Reader (Philadelphia and New York, 1970) ; in Germany it is

  available i n Pete r Freese , ed. , Growing Up Black in America: Stories and

  Studies of Socialization (Paderborn, 1977).

  5. Al l page numbers given in brackets in the text refer to the reprint of the

  story in Edward Margolies, ed., A Native Sons Reader.

  153

  6. Takin g the date of Phoebe Adams' letter (1958) as terminus ante quern

  and takin g int o accoun t that , accordin g t o Clarenc e Major , Black Slang: A

  Dictionary of Afro-American Talk (London, 1971) , "spade," "hippie" in its

  particular, negativ e meaning, "on the scene," "roost" and "high " were used

  by black Americans in or up to the 1950's, one can date the story's action in

  the mid-fifties .

  7. Cf . Williams ' statemen t i n Joh n O'Brien , ed. , Interviews with Black

  Writers (Ne w York, 1973) , p. 236, where, in regard to the relation between

  telling and showing, he says: "I find that too much narration becomes a pain

  in the ass. You get on a roller coaster and start breaking out the flags. Dialogue

  is always better."

  8. Nanc y M . Tischler, Black Masks: Negro Characters in Modern Southern

  Fiction (University Park and London, 1969), p. 32.

  9. Lillia n Smith, Killers of the Drea
m (New York, 1949), p. 127.

  10. Here , too, some autobiographical influences can be detected. Cf. Williams'

  travel book This Is My Country Too (New York, 1966), p. 77, where he says

  that hi s ow n mothe r ha s spen t "bette r tha n hal f he r lif e i n other people' s

  kitchens an d bedroom s an d bathrooms . Lik e the mythical Aun t Bessie , she

  knows more about white people than they can ever know about her."

  11. Cf . m y interpretation o f Jame s Baldwin' s "Going to Meet the Man" in

  this volume.

  12. Cf . Clarence Major, op. cit.

  13. Cheste r Himes, Pinktoes (Paris: Olympia Press, 1961), motto.

  14. Cf. , for example, The Angry Ones, where Steven Hill, the black protagon-

  ist, an d Lois , the beautifu l an d neuroti c Jewis h gir l wit h who m h e ha s an

  affair, us e each other: Steve n to revenge himself upo n the white world, Lois

  to shock her hated mother. Cf. esp. p. 173, where Steven bluntly says: "You

  used me as a tool against your parents - agains t your mother .. . I used you

  too, baby ... Nearly every time I called you, it had been a bad day for me, and

  I had to get back, if not at them directly, at you, and that worked out fine. It

  kept me from goin g nuts." To use the novel as a point o f comparison seems

  all the more legitimate as (1) the novel was written at approximately the same

  time a s the story , (2 ) bot h texts have strong autobiographical trait s (in the

  interview wit h Joh n O'Brien , op.cit., p . 232 , Williams says that The Angry

  Ones "was in some ways a very autobiographical novel"), and (3) Steven is in

  many aspect s a forerunne r o r successo r o f Wendel l (h e come s fro m Lo s

  Angeles, is an unpublished writer, and works in public relations; the motif of

  "suntanning"is taken up in the novel [cf. p. 153]; and Steven's insight, "I was

  a littl e disguste d wit h mysel f - I ha d a persecution complex , I figured"

  [p. 103] , could serve to explain Wendell's heightened sensitivit y t o potential

  racial insults).

  15. Thi s statement , quote d i n greater detail in the motto, is taken from a n

  interview give n t o Ear l A . Cash on October 25, 1971, and it is reprinted in

  154

  Cash, op. cit, p . 147.

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  Williams' eight novels are:

  The Angry Ones (New York: Lancer, 1960).

  Night Song (New York: Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, 1961).

  Sissie (New York: Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, 1963).

  The Man Who Cried I Am (Boston : Little, Brown, 1967).

  Sons of Darkness, Sons of Light: A Novel of Some Probability (Boston :

  Little, Brown, 1969).

  Captain Blackman: A Novel (Garden City: Doubleday, 1972).

  Mothersill and the Foxes (Garden City: Doubleday, 1975).

  The Junior Bachelor Society (Garden City: Doubleday, 1976).

  Williams' nonfiction books include:

  Africa: Her History, Lands and People Told With Pictures (New York :

  Lancer, 1963).

  The Protectors (New York: Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, 1964) ; togethe r with

  Harry T. Anslinger, under the pseudonym of J. Dennis Gregory).

  This Is My Country Too (New York: New American Library, 1965).

  The King God Didn't Save: Reflections on the Life and Death of Martin

  Luther King, Jr. (New York: Coward-McCann, 1970).

  The Most Native of Sons: A Biography of Richard Wright (Garden City:

  Doubleday, 1970).

  Flashbacks: A Twenty-Year Diary of Article Writing (Garden City: Double-

  day, 1973).

  Williams has edited The Angry Black (New York: Lancer, 1962) and Beyond

  the Angry Black (New York : Coope r Square , 1966 ) and , togethe r wit h

  Charles F . Harris , th e first tw o volume s o f th e no w defunc t magazin e

  Amistad (New York: Random House, vol. I,1970, and vol. II, 1971).

  155

  Barbara Puschmann-Nalenz

  ERNEST J. GAINES

  A LONG DAY IN NOVEMBER

  (1963)

  Ernest J . Gaine s was born i n 1933 . He grew up on a plantation in

  the Louisian a "bayou country." At the age of sixteen he moved t o

  San Francisco, where he still lives.

  In 1963 , The Sewanee Review publishe d "Just like a Tree," one

  of his first stories. In the next year Dial Press brought out the firs t

  of his published novels, Catherine Carmier, which was followed b y

  Of Love and Dust, i n 1967 . With th e appearance of The Autobio-

  graphy of Miss Jane Pittman h e becam e know n t o a wider public.

  Bloodline, his only collection of short stories, appeared in 1968.

  Ernest Gaine s is the winner of several literary awards and fellow-

  ships.

  The settin g o f Gaines ' stor y " A Lon g Day in November, " th e

  first i n hi s anthology,1 i s the rural Sout h o f th e United States. In

  five sections it tells us the events of one day, seen through the eyes

  of a six-year-old negr o boy, the only child of his parents Amy and

  Eddie wh o liv e an d wor k o n a white-owne d plantation . A t day -

  break, whil e he is still in bed, his father an d mothe r hav e a fight,

  because Eddi e come s hom e late , havin g agai n spen t mos t o f hi s

  time o n th e ol d ca r h e bough t som e tim e ago . I n th e morning,

  when hi s fathe r ha s gon e t o wor k i n th e fields , th e bo y an d hi s

  mother leav e the house and go to live with his grandmother. Littl e

  "Sonny," a s he is called most of the time, has a bad day in school,

  because h e doe s not kno w hi s lesson: i n hi s fear an d agitatio n h e

  wets himself , thu s becomin g th e laughingstoc k o f hi s classmates.

  After schoo l h e goe s bac k t o hi s grandmother' s house . Sonny' s

  father trie s t o tal k t o Amy , in orde r t o mak e he r return t o thei r

  house — i n vain . Eddie' s strong-wille d mother-in-la w scare s hi m

  away wit h a shotgun ; he doe s not dar e t o g o near th e hous e bu t

  paces back an d fort h in front o f the gate, looking up to the house,

  157

  and crying . When Sonny goes outside for a moment his father calls

  to him an d take s him alon g to th e preacher's house where he first

  asks for advice . But the Reverend with his conventional attitude is

  not abl e t o help ; his only suggestio n i s for Eddie to be strong and

  pray. S o th e fathe r an d th e so n visit a fortune-teller, hoping that

  she ca n tel l him wha t t o do . The firs t tim e sh e sends them awa y

  because the y d o no t hav e enough mone y t o pa y her . Bu t Eddie ,

  not ye t discouraged , borrow s thre e dollar s an d goe s back . Th e

  hoodoo woma n tell s him that he must burn his car — then his wife

  will retur n t o him . This is what h e does , though reluctantly , an d

  at th e en d o f th e da y Amy , Eddie , an d Sonn y ar e reunited an d

  back in their old home again.

  The themes , events , an d character s o f th e stor y ar e se t i n an

  environment typica l o f th e author' s novel s and stories : th e blac k

  worker's life on a white-owned plantation in the post-bellum South.

  The autho r deal s wit h emotion s an d experience s o f individuals ,

  which a t th e sam e tim e are predetermined b y traditional roles and

  accepted social standards.

  In " A Lon g Da y i n November " Gaine s concern s himself wit h


  the relationshi p between a man and a woman, its development and

  change. The chang e her e is predominantly i n th e husband , Eddie,

  who from a childish, self-pitying man who seems to rely completely

  on hi s wife's strengt h an d determination , develop s into " a man, "

  as hi s famil y call s it , acceptin g hi s responsibilit y a s breadwinner

  and head of th e family . I t i s hi s wif e wh o makes him d o wha t is

  required o f hi m b y forcin g hi m t o mak e a decision and to fulfill a

  given promise . I t i s al l sh e wants . Sh e i s firm , bu t sh e certainl y

  does no t inten d t o revers e traditiona l role s by domineerin g ove r

  her husband . Thi s become s eviden t a t th e end , wher e sh e beg s

  Eddie t o bea t he r after the y ar e reunited, sinc e sh e is not abl e to

  bear th e though t tha t he r husban d migh t becom e th e ai m o f

  ridicule becaus e h e di d wha t hi s wif e demanded . I t i s sh e wh o

  insists o n restoring th e traditiona l famil y structure : o n thi s poin t

  she is relentless.

  The black male's search fo r identit y an d th e problematic struc-

  ture o f th e blac k famil y are , of course , main topic s of the Ameri-

  can novel and short story in the twentieth century. They have also

  158

  been extensively explored in recent documentary studies .

  In Gaines ' " A Lon g Day in November, " however, the subject is

  dealt wit h i n a surprising and refreshing manner . Its impact on the

  reader's mind i s based o n a mixture o f patho s an d humour which

  characterizes th e narrative and has marked most of Gaines' fiction.

  The story' s effect s o f immediacy an d sympatheti c insigh t int o

  the natur e o f its characters — people like those the author grew up

  with — ar e essentially th e resul t o f specific narrative methods, the

  most importan t o f whic h is a limited point of view. The little boy

  is th e first-perso n narrato r an d a t th e sam e time — a s Amy's and

  Eddie's so n — a main figur e i n thi s family drama , althoug h h e re-

  mains passive and is never in control of the events.

  The main consequenc e o f lookin g at adul t experience s through

  the eye s o f a child i s a strong sense o f remotenes s and, a t times ,