by Peter Bruck
THE BLACK AMERICAN SHORT STORY IN THE
20TH CENTURY
THE BLACK AMERICAN SHORT STORY
IN THE 20TH CENTURY
A Collection of Critical Essays
Edited by Peter Bruck
B.R. Grüner Publishing Co., Amsterdam
1977
© b y B.R. Grüner Publishing Co.
ISBN 90 6032 085 9
Printed in The Netherlands
CONTENTS
Preface vi
i
Peter Bruck
Black American Short Fiction in the 20th Century: Problems of
Audience, and the Evolution of Artistic Stances and Themes 1
Hartmut K. Selke
Charles WaddeU Chesnutt, The Sheriffs Children (1 9 ) 2
1
John Wakefield
Paul Laurence Dunbar, The Scapegoat (1904 ) 3
9
Udo O.H. Jung
Jean Toomer, Fern (1922) 5
3
Peter Bruck
Langston Hughes, The Blues iI'm Playing (1934) 7
1
Maureen Liston
Chester Himes, A Nigger (1937) 8
5
Wolfgang Karrer
Richard Wright, Fire and Cloud (1938) 9
9
Willi Real
Ralph Ellison, King of the Bingo Game (1944) 11
1
David Galloway
William Melvin Kelley, The Poker Party (1961 ) 12
9
Peter Freese
John A. Williams, Son in the Afternoon (1962 ) 14
1
Barbara Puschmann-Nalenz
Ernest J. Gaines, A Long Day in November (1963 ) 15
7
Peter Freese
James Baldwin, Going to Meet the Man (1965) 17
1
John Wakefield
Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones), The Alternative (1965 ) 18
7
Peter Bruck
Selected Bibliography 20
5
Contributors 20
9
PREFACE
This volume is a collection of essays on black short stories written
between 188 9 and 1965 . Indirectly I hope it manages to say some-
thing about th e blac k shor t stor y a s a genre an d the development
of th e racia l situatio n i n Americ a a s well . I t shoul d b e stresse d
from th e outse t tha t th e primar y ai m i s t o tr y t o introduc e th e
reader t o thi s long neglected genr e o f blac k fiction. In contrast t o
the blac k novel , th e shor t stor y ha s hardl y bee n give n extensiv e
criticism, le t alon e seriou s attention . Th e numerou s anthologie s
published i n th e lat e 1960' s and early 1970' s are the case in point.
Seeing tha t th e editor s hardl y eve r bothere d t o introduc e th e
stories the y anthologized , i t come s a s n o surpris e tha t viabl e
criteria o f classificatio n an d standard s o f evaluatio n ar e still very
much in th e dark . Sinc e a sound framework fo r the interpretation
of blac k shor t fictio n i s a s muc h a desideratum toda y a s it eve r
was, the individua l essay s of thi s collection ai m at presenting new
points o f critica l orientatio n i n th e hope o f revivin g and fosterin g
further discussion s o f thi s genre. Hence th e variety o f approaches
used, hence also the diversity of critical points of view.
As alway s i n suc h endeavours , th e selectio n o f author s an d
stories i s ultimatel y subjective . Th e principl e o f selectio n i s thus
left t o justify itself , or fail to, as the case may be.
Finally I wish to acknowledge the stimulating cooperation of all
contributors who made it possible for this volume to appear.
P.B.
Münster/W., July 197 7
Vll
Peter Bruck
BLACK AMERICAN SHORT FICTION
IN THE 20TH CENTURY
Problems of Audience, and the Evolution of Artistic Stances
and Themes
When Jame s Baldwin , reviewing a volume o f poetr y b y Langsto n
Hughes in 1959 , spoke o f th e "al l bu t irreconcilabl e war between
his [th e blac k writer's ] socia l an d artisti c responsibilities," 1 h e
gave voic e t o a dilemm a tha t i s a s ol d a s th e histor y o f blac k
literature. Th e problem he stated touches upon a conflict face d b y
the blac k artis t whic h i s inherent i n hi s spiritual universe . Hence
the blac k writer' s attempt s "t o spea k wit h tw o voices, one fro m
the stag e o f nationa l cultur e and the other from th e soul of ethnic
experience."2
As earl y a s 1903 , DuBoi s couche d th e ambivalen t natur e o f
black existence in the following terms:
It is a peculiar sensation , this double consciousness, this sense of always
looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by
the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever
feels his two-ness, - a n American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two
unreconciled strivings.3
DuBois' ide a o f "doubl e consciousness " wa s t o becom e th e
central metapho r describin g th e existential predicamen t o f th e
black American . Thi s metapho r wa s echoe d ove r hal f a centur y
later b y wha t Ralp h Elliso n termed "doubl e vision"4 a s well as by
the propheti c word s spoke n b y on e o f th e character s i n Richar d
Wright's novel The Outsider: "Negroe s ar e going to be gifted wit h
a double vision, for, being Negroes, they are going to be both inside
and outsid e o f ou r cultur e a t th e sam e time . .. . They will became
psychological men, ... centers of knowing, so to speak."5
From an anthropological point of view, the metaphor of "double
consciousness" refer s t o th e uniqu e "bicultura l ambivalence " o f
the Afro-American . A s Ostendorf ha s pointed out , "'doubl e con -
sciousness' ... refers t o th e awarenes s o f cultura l alternatives , kep t
alive b y socia l exclusion, an d i t refer s t o th e awarenes s o f a class
1
difference, ofte n kep t aliv e o n th e basi s o f colo r o r poverty." 6
This bicultura l conditio n cause s problem s fo r th e blac k artis t i n
finding hi s prope r audienc e an d i n determinin g his own stanc e a s a
writer. As James Weldon Johnson state d i n 1928 :
The Aframerica n autho r face s a specia l proble m whic h th e plain autho r
knows nothin g abou t - th e proble m o f th e doubl e audience. It is more
than a double audience; it is a divided audience, an audience made up of
two elements with differing an d often opposit e and antagonistic points of
view. .. . To whom shall he address himself, to his own black group or to
white America?7
Johnson's ide a o f th e "divide d audience " presents the socio-literar y
distillation o f DuBois ' imagery . I t pinpoint s a difficult y whic h
seems t o exten d t o al l writer s facin g th e proble m o f cultura l
ambivalence. A s example s fro m contemporar y Africa n fictio n
de
monstrate, th e Africa n write r face s a n equivalen t dilemm a
which, significantly , i s also couched i n th e sam e terminology : "th e
dual natur e o f thei r publi c — African an d Europea n — .. . mean s
that th e writer , fro m th e very start , has got t o conciliat e antinomi c
requirements, give n th e tw o contrastin g type s o f readers." 8 Th e
consequences tha t thi s peculia r cultura l contex t impose s o n bot h
the Africa n an d th e Afro-America n write r ar e indee d comple x
enough. The y no t onl y appl y t o th e writer' s self-definitio n an d
demand a difficul t decisio n fro m him , but the y als o exert a crucia l
influence o n th e actua l formatio n o f th e literar y tex t itself , a s
Kane ha s convincingl y demonstrate d wit h regar d t o Africa n
fiction.9
With referenc e t o Afro-America n shor t fiction , thi s "socio -
cultural gulf"10 prove d to be particularly cumbersom e to the writer .
If, a s wa s ofte n enoug h th e case , h e fel t "tha t winnin g a whit e
audience wa s th e onl y adequat e tes t o f hi s talen t an d o f hi s aes -
thetic standards , an d tha t onl y th e judgmen t o f a whit e audienc e
had meaning," 11 h e had , a t leas t i n th e past , t o succum b t o th e
preconceived notion s whic h th e whit e audienc e ha d o f his role an d
of his literary productions .
Some o f thes e notio n have been pointed out in detail by Saunder s
Redding, Sterlin g Brown , Jame s W . Johnson , an d Zora Neal e
Hurston. Redding , discussin g severa l manifestation s o f th e post -
bellum period , note s that "th e imag e o f th e Negro as chicken-thief ,
melon-stealer, incorrigibl e liar , ... , ravisher of women, irresponsible,
2
... an d ye t witha l laughabl e gre w unti l i t cam e abou t tha t onl y
within th e patter n o f thi s concep t wa s th e Negr o acceptabl e an d
credible t o a larg e portio n o f th e whit e readin g public." 12 Eve n in
the 1920's , a s Johnso n indicated , thes e limitin g convention s
were stil l dominant . A s h e remarks , suc h topic s a s "th e idea s o f
Negroes o f wealt h livin g i n a luxuriou s manner, " "th e stor y o f a
Negro gir l wh o ros e .. . t o a place o f worl d success, " or "America n
Negroes a s heroes" 13 ha d t o b e beyond th e scope o f blac k writing .
More tha n a decade later, Brown had this to say about the exigencies
of th e publishin g scene :
The marke t fo r Negr o writers , then , i s definitel y limite d a s long a s we
write about ourselves . And the more truthfully w e write about ourselves,
the more limited our market becomes. Those novels about Negroes that sell
best, b y Negroe s o r whites , .. . ar e almos t alway s book s that touc h very
lightly upon the facts of Negro life, books that make our black ghettos and
our plantation s i n th e dee p sout h idylli c i n thei r pastora l loveliness . .. .
When we cease to be exotic, we do not sell well.14
Despite th e chang e o f racia l politics , th e cor e o f limitin g conven -
tions i n 195 0 wa s a s pervasiv e a s half a century before . Thu s Zora
Neale Hursto n deplore d th e lac k o f deman d "fo r incisiv e and full -
dress storie s around Negroe s above th e servan t class " and succintl y
expressed th e dominanc e o f th e followin g stereotype : "th e non -
morbid Negr o is the best-kep t secre t i n Americ a [whose ] revelatio n
to th e publi c i s the thin g needed." 15
All thes e statement s see m t o sugges t tha t th e developmen t o f
the themati c scop e o f black literatur e i s functionally relate d t o th e
expectations o f whit e readers . From a functionally oriente d socio -
literary poin t o f view, 16 th e limitin g convention s face d b y th e
black write r ma y b e see n a s dependen t variable s o f th e ethni c
consciousness o f th e whit e audience. This seems to be demonstrate d
by th e gradual chang e o f th e convention s whic h underline th e pre -
conceived racia l notion s o f whit e reader s an d o f th e publisher s
who catere d t o thei r taste .
Among critic s o f shor t fiction , i t i s no w commonl y agree d tha t
the developmen t o f thi s genr e wa s closel y associate d wit h tha t o f
the America n magazine , notabl y th e bi g famil y magazines . Thi s
fact i s particularl y relevan t t o th e printin g histor y o f blac k shor t
fiction a t th e tur n o f th e century , wher e th e impac t o f whit e
expectations wa s onl y to o obvious . Eve n thoug h th e shor t stor y
3
"had becom e a n establishe d articl e o f merchandise" 1/ b y tha t
time, ther e wer e a s ye t "n o magazine s wit h a primaril y Negr o
audience i n whic h Negr o writers could plac e thei r shor t stories." 18
Such importan t outlet s fo r blac k authorshi p a s The Crisis (1910 )
and Opportunity (1923 ) ha d no t ye t com e int o existence, so tha t
the blac k shor t stor y depende d entirel y o n suc h whit e journals a s
The Atlantic Monthly, The American Mercury, an d Esquire. Th e
intricacies growing out o f thi s situation foun d paradigmati c expres-
sion i n bot h th e shor t fictio n an d artisti c stance s of Pau l Laurenc e
Dunbar an d Charle s W. Chesnutt .
I
Dunbar, th e firs t blac k write r t o publis h a collectio n o f shor t
stories {Folks from Dixie, 1898) , was also the firs t blac k t o receiv e
national acclai m fo r hi s writing . Thi s success , however , depende d
entirely upo n th e approva l o f whit e critic s — such a s William Dea n
Howells - whit e publishers , an d a whit e audience . Dunbar's mos t
influential patro n wa s undeniably Howell s who, in a n introductio n
to Dunbar' s firs t volume s of poetry, had thi s t o say :
Paul Dunba r wa s th e onl y ma n o f pur e Africa n bloo d and of American
civilisation to feel the negro life aestheticall y an d express it lyrically ... In
nothing is his essentially refine d an d delicate ar t so well shown as in these
dialect pieces ..., and it would be this which would most distinguis h him,
now and hereafter.19
Howells' rather favorabl e revie w proved t o b e hampering, however .
As Dunba r wa s later t o remark t o Jame s Weldon Johnson: "dialec t
is wha t peopl e want . They don' t le t me d o anything else, no matter
how muc h I try." 20
Dunbar wa s thu s not onl y a victim o f whit e paternalisti c philan -
thropy an d force d t o pla y th e rol e o f th e whit e man' s concep t o f
the blac k poet ; h e wa s also , i n term s o f th e shor t fiction genre ,
compelled t o accep t th e exigencie s o f th e publishin g scene . I t
demanded fro m th e en d o f th e Civi l War to th e tur n o f th e centur y
local-color fiction an d plantation-tales , whos e majo r champion s
were Joe l Chandle r Harri s an d Thoma s Nelso n Page . The so-calle d
plantation-school wit h it s emphasi s o n pastora l romance , idylli c
life, an d defens e o f slaver y conveyed , politically , th e "fals e imag e
4
of th e benevolen t slav e holder an d hi s contended slave. " I t main -
tained, a s Rober t Bon e reports , "th e fic
tio n tha t th e blac k ma n
was a helples s chil d unworth y t o b e free." 21 I f thes e wer e th e
major term s on whic h editoria l acceptanc e depended , th e options
left wer e indee d narro w enough . I n orde r t o sustai n hi s status as
the first professional blac k writer of short fiction, Dunba r chose to
write primaril y withi n th e ideologica l limit s o f th e plantation -
school; this decision turne d him , in th e eye s of many critics, into
something o f a negative example of a black writer. In the words of
Bone: "i n s o merging with hi s cultural surroundings , Dunba r wa s
assured o f popula r success , but h e paid a n awesom e pric e for this
protective coloration . Lik e th e blac k minstrels , he collaborated in
the defamatio n o f hi s own people." 22 Thi s harsh judgment, how -
ever, tend s t o overloo k Dunbar' s ow n politica l activities, 23 hi s
frequent us e o f revealin g irony , an d hi s las t collectio n o f shor t
stories, The Heart of Happy Hallow (1904), in which he abandoned
the plantatio n tradition . I t i s idle t o speculat e wha t directio n hi s
writing woul d hav e taken , becaus e h e die d onl y tw o years later .
What i s noteworthy , however , i s th e fac t that , despit e th e dom -
inating strai n o f plantation-tales , local-colo r storie s i n a realisti c
manner a s exemplifie d b y th e late r storie s o f Dunba r an d i n
particular b y th e fictio n o f Chesnut t ha d became a viable literary
genre accepted by the white reading public.
Chesnutt's caree r a s a writer i s in man y respect s the reverse of
Dunbar's. Althoug h h e publishe d on e o f hi s firs t storie s i n th e
renowned Atlantic Monthly i n 1887 , hi s racia l identit y wa s not
known eithe r t o hi s publishe r o r his audience fo r ove r a decade.
Chesnutt, basicall y a satirist wh o attacke d slaver y an d th e racia l
practices o f th e Reconstructionis t South , wo n hi s firs t audienc e
with hi s "conjure tales. " Their narrator, Julius, by skilfully manip -
ulating his white audience, "provides a model of how to conjure o r
bewitch th e whit e folks." 24 I n contras t t o Dunbar' s stories which
are primarily entertaining , Chesnut t i n hi s short fictio n play s the
role of an ambassador from blac k culture to his white audience. As