by Peter Bruck
Roosevelt, Jo e i s distracte d b y hi s thought s o n "old sons of a
bitches like this ... . (p. 127) . When he again listens, Fay i s obvious-
ly trying t o get Mr. Shelto n t o make love to her :
What in the hell is she trying to dol But Joe was too proud to bend down
to the keyhole to see for himself. He stood sweating in the center of the
closet between the two racks of close-packed garments bought for her by
Mr. Shelton - h e thought o f him as Mr. Shelton without being aware of it
- hi s stockinge d fee t crampe d an d uncomfortabl e amon g th e scatter of
shoes, suddenl y overcom e wit h th e sens e o f havin g sol d hi s pride, his
whole manhood, for a whore's handout, no better than the pimps down on
Central Avenue , onl y cheape r - s o dam n muc h cheaper . On e flicker of
light came through the keyhole to which he was too proud, even, to bend
down and look at the man who had controlled his eating for the past five
weeks, an d no w a t thi s momen t wa s controllin g hi s movemen t an d
emotions an d eve n his soul. Too proud to look even while accepting the
position, as if not looking would lessen the actuality; would make it more
possible to believe he hadn't accepted it. Sweat trickled down his face and
neck and legs and body like crawling lice, and the mixture of the scent of
the twelve bottles of perfume sh e kept on her dresser like a stack of thou-
sand-dollar bills, along with the sharp musk scent of her body, stale shoe
smell and underarm ordor, in the dense sticky closeness, brought a sickish
91
taste to his mouth ... (p. 128).
At th e sam e time , Jo e trie s t o maintai n a n artisti c distanc e fro m
the situation : "If I can only get it funny, h e thought. "
He tried to get far enough away from i t to see it like it was. The guy was
just anothe r square . Just lik e all the other white squares he'd see n being
debased by Negro women after thei r se x had gone from thei r bodies into
their minds, no longer even able to give or receive any vestige of satisfac-
tion fro m younge r women of their own race, their wives long past giving
or requiring. Turning to Negro women because in them they saw only the
black imag e o f flesh , th e orga n itself , lik e beautifu l bronz e statue s en-
dowed with motion, flesh an d blood, instinct an d passion, but possessing
no min d t o condemn , n o sou l t o b e outraged, mos t o f al l no power to
judge or accuse, before who m the spirit o f exhausted sex could creep and
crawl an d expos e it s ugl y nakednes s withou t embarrassmen t o r restraint
(p. 129).
Joe remember s a n inciden t whic h occurre d i n 1928 , a n inciden t
which wa s a t th e tim e funny . H e ha d bee n a voyeur whe n a blac k
prostitute ha d bee n pai d t o debas e a whit e man . "Bu t i t wasn' t
funny now . H e couldn' t ge t i t funny . Th e fac t was , he , Joe Wolf ,
had bee n maneuvere d b y a whor e int o a spo t to o lo w fo r a dog "
(p. 130) . A s Hime s becam e awar e i n th e 1920' s o f hi s growin g
violence, Jo e become s awar e o f his , an d form s a garrot e ou t o f a
hanger. "Hi s breat h ooze d ou t an d wit h i t hi s determinatio n —
God knows, I don't want to kill them. Bu t he kne w tha t h e would ;
he alway s did ever y craz y thin g he kne w he shouldn' t do " (p. 130).
The close t doo r open s an d "Jo e blinke d int o th e light , an d fo r
one breathles s instant h e stared straigh t into th e smal l blue sardon -
ic eye s o f a stout bald-heade d whit e ma n wit h a fringe o f gray hai r
and a putt y vein-lace d face " (p . 130) . Afte r Mr . Shelto n leaves ,
Joe realizes : "Al l o f a sudde n i t hi t hi m tha t Mr. Shelton ha d
opened th e doo r deliberately , knowin g h e wa s there , an d afte r
having satisfie d himsel f tha t h e wa s right , ha d refuse d t o acknow -
ledge Joe' s existence " (p . 131) . "Why he had not only refused to
recognize him as a rival, not even as an intruder; why, the son of a
bitch looked at him as if he was another garment he had bought for
her. I t wa s th e first tim e h e ha d eve r fel t th e absolut e refusa l o f
recognition" (p . 131) . Fay' s "Suppos e h e di d se e yo u — so what ?
He didn' t le t it make any difference" (p . 131) drives Joe to violence;
he lashe s ou t a t he r wit h th e wire . "Trying to make him accept it!
92
The man refused to even acknowledge his existence. And she
wanted him to accept it!" (p . 131) . Hi s rag e disappear s whe n th e
landlady shoot s a t hi m wit h a .38 , an d h e flee s t o hi s boardin g
house.
... deepe r tha n hi s resentmen t wa s his shame . Th e fact wa s he had kept
standing there, taking it, even after h e could no longer tell himself that it
was a joke, a trim on a sucker, just so he could keep on eating off the bitch
and people wouldn't know just how hard up he really was. Just to keep on
putting up a cheap front amon g the riffraff o n Cedar Street, just to keep
from havin g to go back to his aunt's and eat crow, had become more im-
portant t o hi m tha n hi s innat e pride , hi s manhood , hi s honor . Uncl e
Tomism, acceptance , toadyin g - al l ther e i n it s mos t rugged form. One
way to be a nigger. Other Negroes did it other ways - h e did it the hard
way. The same result - a nigger (p. 132).
It is never ascertained whethe r o r not Mr. Shelton saw Joe. In any
case, i t i s thi s probabilit y tha t drive s Jo e t o action . "H e stoo d
there, unabl e t o breathe , feelin g a s foolis h an d idioti c a s a hungry
man leavin g a cathous e wher e he' d spen t hi s last tw o bucks. The n
rage scalde d hi m fro m ti p t o toe . He flung ope n th e doo r t o sprin g
into th e room , slippe d o n a sho e an d wen t sprawling , th e wir e
garrote cuttin g a bliste r acros s th e bac k o f th e finger s o f hi s lef t
hand" (p . 130) . A s Jo e Wol f ha s trie d t o "ge t i t funny, " Hime s
presents a potentially slapstick scene less the irony of which is lost in
the pathos . Joe's leap from th e closet in which he has been imprison-
ed lead s no t int o freedo m bu t int o a more existentia l confinemen t
where h e i s bot h prisone r an d jailer . Th e realization tha t h e too is
a "nigger " shame s him ; h e want s "t o jus t craw l awa y somewher e
and die " (p . 132) . Hi s inabilit y t o ac t agains t oppressio n place s
him i n th e sam e positio n a s th e othe r black s h e knows . Keit h
Richards, th e protagonis t o f "Al l God' s Chillun Go t Pride " (1944 ;
pp. 239-46) , become s proud enoug h t o react agains t being a nigger
and end s u p i n a guardhouse . Jo e Wolf is incapable o f overcomin g
his oppression an d hi s fear .
Joe's interio r monlogue s followe d b y a shor t bu t intens e burs t
of violenc e mak e th e endin g somewha t anticlimatic . Th e sudde n
activity juxtapose d wit h Joe' s fina l discover y depriv e th e trut h o f
having th e impac t i t deserves . Th e ineffectualit y stem s no t fro m
Himes' philosoph y — he ha d alread y discovere d hi s potentia l fo r
violence — but fro m th e wa y in which he trie s to handle the theme.
<
br /> Joe's discover y o f hi s imprisonmen t woul d hav e bee n muc h
93
more powerfu l i f he had no t burs t fro m th e closet , taken a pratfall,
and attacke d Fa y an d Mis s Lou .
"A Nigger " i s perhaps mos t interestin g a s a psychological stud y
and a s a n introductio n t o man y o f Himes ' majo r themes : Uncl e
Tomism, violence , race , manhood . Th e element s o f socia l protest ,
emotionalism, sociologica l an d psychological characterization , an d
intensity ar e share d b y th e othe r member s o f th e Wrigh t School .
And th e reader , "o n perceivin g it s responsibilit y fo r th e pligh t o f
the protagonist, is expected t o alte r its attitude towar d race. "
The ide a o f "nigger " i s develope d wel l through th e rumination s
of Jo e Wolf. But a s a short stor y just lik e all of Himes' short stories,
"A Nigger " i s a lightweight. Himes' ideas towards violence seem t o
constantly lea d hi m toward s som e kin d o f writer' s block ; sinc e
1969 h e ha s publishe d th e collectio n Black on Black an d hi s two-
volume autobiography, but n o fiction . A s Margolies notes:
There ca n b e little questio n tha t th e ton e o f Himes's work has changed
since his departure fo r Europe. As he himself noted he can no longer bring
himself t o writ e protes t novels . Which i s not t o say that an y of Himes's
intensely bitter racial feelings have waned. Perhaps the opposite is true. His
years abroad have lent him time to brood about the injustices, the tragedy
of it all .... And if we read these expatriate works correctly we see that, if
anything, Himes's European perspective has left him even more pessimistic
19
The violenc e whic h run s throughou t Blind Man with a Pistol, hi s
last publishe d novel , an d "Prediction " (1969 ; pp. 281-87), his last
published shor t story , ha s bee n wholesale , random , futile ; Hime s
now believe s "tha t onl y organize d violenc e o n th e orde r o f Vie t
Cong violenc e ca n effec t socia l change." 20 Hi s pessimis m an d
brooding — what i s perhap s stil l hat e — are no t creativ e but , a s
Himes himself realize d a decade ago , "destructive" emotions .
Himes wil l b e 6 8 thi s year . I t ca n onl y b e assumed tha t th e lif e
he ha s le d — or ha s bee n force d t o lea d — ha s finall y destroye d
whatever Activ e power s h e eve r possessed . Perhap s Cheste r Hime s
has bee n exploited ; th e ideolog y h e ha s adopte d t o comba t thi s
exploitation ha s le d t o a n impass e i n hi s creativ e powers . Mos t
likely th e evaluatio n o f hi s writing will agree with Bone' s criticis m
of If He Hollers Let Him Go a s "a n impressiv e failure " an d wit h
Margolies' limite d vie w tha t th e detectiv e novel s ar e "som e o f hi s
best prose." 21
94
NOTES
1. Edwar d Margolies , Native Sons: A Critical Study of Twentieth-Century
Black American Authors (Ne w York, 1968) , p. 87.
2. Cheste r Himes , The Quality of Hurt: The Autobiography of Chester
Himes (London, 1972) , p. 5.
3. Rober t Bone, The Negro Novel in America (Ne w Haven, 1965), p. 157.
4. Roge r Whitlow, Black American Literature: A Critical History (Chicago ,
1973), p. 115.
5. Bone , p. 158.
6. Ibid., p. 157 .
7. Ibid.
8. Bone , p. 173.
9. Whitlow , p. 117.
10. Joh n A . Williams , "M y Ma n Himes, " i n Amistad 1 (Ne w York , 1970) , p. 27.
11. A Case of Rape, publishe d onl y i n French , is a novel virtually unknown
to the American reading public.
12. Cheste r Himes , "Dilemm a of the Negro Novelist in the United States," in
John A . Williams, ed., Beyond the Angry Black (New York, 1966) , pp. 74-75.
13. Edwar d Margolies , "Experience s o f th e Blac k Expatriat e Writer: Chester
Himes," College Language Association Journal, 1 5 (1972), 426.
14. "I n certain respect s I think Himes' s works abou t a couple of hardboiled
detectives represent s som e o f his bes t prose . Possibl y becaus e h e though t h e
was writing potboilers, possibly because he could relax more within the frame-
work o f th e detectiv e genre , writin g fo r a French audience about the kind of
life h e kne w ver y well. " Margolies , p . 426. Hime s claims he starte d writin g
detective fiction because he needed the money. See Williams, p. 32.
15. "Titillating,: : "on e o f Himes ' favorit e word s i n describin g th e effec t
black people have on white people." Williams, p. 28.
16. Cheste r Himes , "Foreword, " Black on Black: Baby Sister and Selected
Writings (New York , 1973) , pp . 7-8 . Furthe r references t o thi s volume wil l
appear in the text.
17. I n response to Williams' question concerning Himes' memory of detail:
Well, som e o f i t come s fro m memory ; and then I began writing these
series [Série Noire] because I realized tha t I was a black American, and
there's n o wa y o f escapin g fort y som e od d year s o f experience, s o I
would put it to use in writing, which I had been doing anyway ... .
Well, then , I wen t bac k - a s a matter o f fact , it' s like a sort o f pur e
homesickness - I went back , I was very happy, I was living there, and
it's true . I began creating also all the blac k scenes o f m y memor y an d
my actua l knowledge . I was very happy writin g these detective stories,
especially th e first one, when I began it. I wrote those stories with more
95
pleasure tha n I wrote an y o f th e othe r stories . An d then when I got to
the en d and started my detectiv e shootin g a t some white people, I was
the happiest.
Williams, pp. 49-50.
18. Himes , "Dilemma of the Negro Novelist," pp. 78-79.
19. Margolies , pp. 426-27.
20. Ibid. Margolie s also refers t o an interview with Himes "granted to Michel
Fabre o n Jun e 12 , 197 0 an d then edite d an d translated int o Frenc h fo r Le
Monde." P . 426, footnote 6 .
21. Bone , p. 173; Margolies, p. 426.
PRIMARY SOURCES
See Miche l Fabre' s "Cheste r Himes ' Publishe d Works : A Tentativ e Chec k
List" in Black World, 21 (March 1972), 76-78, for a complete listing.
Fuller, Hoy t W . "Traveler o n the Long , Rough , Lonel y Ol d Road : An Inter-
view wit h Cheste r Himes. " Black World, 2 1 (Marc h 1972) , 4-22 ,
87-98.
Himes, Chester. Black on Black: Baby Sister and Selected Writings. New York,
1973.
— "Dilemm a o f th e Negr o Novelis t i n th e Unite d States, " Beyond the
Angry Black. Ed. John A. Williams. New York, 1966 .
— My Life of Absurdity: The Autobiography of Chester Himes. Volume 2.
New York, 1977 .
— The Quality of Hurt: The Autobiography of Chester Himes. Volum e 1 .
London,1973.
Williams, Joh n A . "M y Ma n Himes : A n Intervie w wit h Cheste r Himes, "
Amistad 1. Ed . Joh n A . William s an d Charle s F . Harris . New York ,
1970. pp. 25-93.
SECONDARY SOURCES
Becker, Jens-Peter . " To Tel l I t Lik e I t Is' : Cheste r Himes. " I n Sherlock
Holmes and Co.: Essays zur englischen und amerikanischen Detektiv-
literatur. München, 1975.
Bone, Robert. Negro Novel in America. Ne w Haven, 1965.
Fabre, Michel. "A Case of Rape." Black World, 21 (March 1972), 39-48.
Lundquist, James. Chester Himes. New York, 1976 .
Margolies, Edward . "Experience s o f th e Blac k Expatriat e Writer : Cheste r
Himes." College Language Association Journal, 1 5 (1972).
96
— "Rac e and Sex: The Novels of Chester Himes." In Native Sons: A Critical
Study of Twentieth-Century Black American Authors. Philadelphia ,
1968.
Milliken, Stephen F. Chester Himes: A Critical Appraisal. Columbia , 1977 .
Reed, Ishmael . "Cheste r Himes : Writer. " Black World, 2 1 (Marc h 1972) , 24-38,83-86.
Whitlow, Roger . Black American Literature: A Critical History. Chicago ,
1973.
97
Wolfgang Karrer
RICHARD WRIGHT
FIRE AND CLOUD
(1938)
The work s o f Richar d Wrigh t (1908-60 ) roughl y belon g to thre e
different periods : th e earl y communis t phas e til l 1940 , the exist -
ential (an d anti-communist) phase to 1954 , and the late civil-rights
phase afte r th e Suprem e Cour t decisio n o n desegregation . Thi s
division partl y coincide s wit h th e importan t turnin g points in his
life: th e poverty an d discriminatio n h e experience d i n Mississipp i
and Chicag o durin g the 30's; his status as the first bestsellin g black
writer after th e success of his Native Son in 1940, and his expatriate
life i n Pari s since 1947 , surrounded by Sartre's friends and relative
prosperity.1
Fire and Cloud belongs to th e earl y communis t phase . It wa s
a prize winning entry in Story, The Magazine of the Short Story i n
1938 an d wo n Wrigh t a contrac t wit h Harpe r t o publis h i n th e
same yea r Uncle Tom's Children. Four Novellas, one o f whic h is
Fire and Cloud. ? Wrigh t joined th e Communist Party in 193 2 and
was expelled in 1944. 3 Fire and Cloud is an example of proletarian
realism a s proposed by the party and raises interesting aesthetic and
political problem s i n adaptin g th e proletaria n mode l o f blac k
writing, especiall y th e proble m o f blac k speec h i n blac k writin g
and of finding a black audience.