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,