The Black American Short Story in the 20th Century

by Peter Bruck

  Those wh o watc h hi m ar e aware o f thi s change in him :

  'I just d o declare,' Gran'mon says . 'I must b e dreaming. He is a man after

  all.'(71)

  'Never thought that was in Eddie,' somebody says real low.

  'You not the only one,' somebody else says. (72)

  If th e fathe r i s presente d a s a perso n wh o i s emotionall y stil l a

  child an d the n throug h th e event s of th e stor y achieve s a new kin d

  of manhood , hi s son resemble s him i n many respects , the basi c dif -

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  ference being , o f course , tha t h e is a chil d wherea s hi s father act s

  like one . Sonn y literall y shut s hi s eye s i n fron t o f a painfu l an d

  humiliating situation; 4 hi s father doe s this in a metaphorical sense .

  Also th e en d o f th e stor y show s a paralle l developmen t i n both .

  The boy , too , has "grown up " and foun d a new strengt h t o maste r

  his problems, and a new self-confidenc e throug h hi s father :

  ... I kno w m y lesson . I ain't go' n wee-we e o n myself no more. Daddy's

  going t o schoo l wit h m e tomorrow . I' m go' n sho w him I can beat Billy

  Joe Martin .... (79)

  Still, Sonny ha s to awai t his initiation . In his dreams he experiences

  this ne w confidence , bu t realit y migh t stil l prov e painful . Th e

  scenes tha t sho w hi m wit h hi s peer s exemplif y ho w vulnerable h e

  is. H e trie s t o wi n th e attentio n an d sympath y o f hi s littl e girl -

  friend Lucy , an d i s deepl y hur t whe n sh e despise s hi m fo r hi s

  failure i n class . H e i s so fascinated b y th e youthfu l lover s Bil l an d

  Juanita tha t h e include s the m i n hi s praye r tha t night . Thei r

  happiness i s wha t h e himsel f look s forwar d t o - a romati c lover ,

  still lacking his father's experienc e wit h love and it s ordeals.

  "A Lon g Da y i n November " exemplifie s severa l characteristics ,

  thematic an d stylistic , o f Gaines ' fiction . Lik e Faulkne r a nativ e

  Southerner, hi s novel s an d storie s al l dea l wit h Southerners , th e

  environment i n whic h the y liv e an d th e change s the y undergo .

  The familia r clipped , journalistic style he derive s from Hemingwa y

  is mos t obviou s an d a t time s les s functiona l i n th e author's earlie r

  novels tha n i n hi s late r work , includin g Bloodline. Gaine s himsel f

  looks upon th e antholog y a s his personal an d publi c breakthrough :

  I alway s kne w m y storie s wer e bette r tha n anythin g els e I had written.

  (...) And they have been successful.5

  His fiv e lon g storie s i n Bloodline appea r i n a n orde r whic h signal -

  izes a chronologica l an d themati c development : th e narrato r o f

  "A Lon g Day" is six years old; the secon d stor y i s told b y th e tim e

  the centra l characte r i s eight , an d i n th e followin g storie s h e i s a

  young man . Th e proces s o f growin g u p i s illustrate d b y a n expan -

  sion both o f th e are a in whic h th e character s move an d of the range

  of topics they ar e concerned with .

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  The onl y boo k tha t Gaines published after Bloodline, s o far, his

  novel The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, ha s been enthu -

  siastically receive d b y America n critic s becaus e i n i t th e autho r

  displays a maturit y i n selectin g his themes an d technique s whic h

  makes i t superio r t o th e othe r novels . I n thi s boo k th e centra l

  figure, Jane Pittman , a 110-year-ol d negr o woman , tells the stor y

  of he r life . A s in al l of Gaines' fiction, the clash between differen t

  generations i s a n importan t theme . The narrator her e i s a simple

  old woman . But sh e has lived throug h th e fat e o f blac k people in

  the post-bellum Sout h for more than one generation, and she bears

  witness o f wha t thi s historica l chang e mean t fo r peopl e lik e her .

  She tells about event s an d feelings without caring too much about

  motivation o r causality . I n thi s respec t Jan e Pittma n resemble s

  the youthful narrato r of "A Long Day in November."

  Unlike " A Long Day," the author's novels as well as some of his

  stories (fo r example , th e anthology' s titl e stor y "Bloodline" ) ar e

  more directly concerned with the collective fate of the black people

  in th e Unite d States , with interracia l antagonism s o f th e pas t and

  the present , an d wit h rebellion . Bu t politica l topic s i n Gaines '

  fiction are alway s interlaced with the account of everyday life and

  individual experience . I n " A Lon g Day" he dispense s completel y

  with th e clas h of different racia l and historical patterns, restricting

  the narrativ e t o th e black community. He displays a microcosm of

  private lif e an d persona l relationships. Nevertheless, the characters

  of the novella are implicitly shown as products of a people's history

  and social traditions.

  The autho r feels free to deal with aspects of the black condition

  that hav e seldom been pointed ou t by black writers in this manner.

  Eddie, who is exclusively presented in his role as a "family man " is

  certainly no t a her o i n th e traditiona l sense ; w e hav e see n tha t

  weakness and confusio n ar e clea r marks of his nature. Neverteless,

  without eliminatin g comi c an d eve n grotesque feature s o r apolo-

  gizing for them , Gaine s does not i n the least expose his characters

  to ridicule . Rathe r h e make s Eddi e achiev e a kin d o f prid e an d

  dignity whic h i s the resul t o f th e author' s humou r and his human

  understanding o f "commo n folks. " B y interweaving th e conten t

  and th e narrativ e techniqu e o f thi s stor y s o tha t the y becom e

  mutually reinforcin g an d complementary , Gaine s succeed s i n

  rendering his characters, thei r environment , and their emotions al-

  most palpable . His ability an d th e ease with which he presents the

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  world o f averag e blac k peopl e "fro m within, " a s it were , see m t o

  be th e mai n reaso n wh y h e i s hailed a s one o f a new generation o f

  black writers .

  NOTES

  1. Ernes t J. Gaines, Bloodline (New York, 1968) . "A Long Day in Novem-

  ber," pp. 3-79; all page numbers in parenthesis refer to this Dial edition. The

  story ha s als o bee n anthologize d i n Langsto n Hughes , ed., The Best Short

  stories by Negro Writers: An Anthology from 1899 to the Present (Boston,

  1967).

  2. Th e mos t well-know n an d noteworth y amon g the m ar e th e so-calle d

  Moynihan Repor t (Danie l Patrick Moynihan, Perspectives on Poverty. 2 vols.

  New York, London, 1966-67) , which was used as an official documen t in the

  political endeavours of the late sixties, and Herbert G.Gutman's new book The

  Black Family in Slavery and Freedom. 1750-1925 (1976).

  Moynihan argued that slavery destroyed black family structure, as a result of

  which th e blac k family i s characterized b y "hig h rates of marital instability

  (desertion, divorce , separation) , hig h incidenc e o f househol d heade d b y

  females, high rates of illegitimacy."

  Gutmann maintains that th e family ideal and strong family solidarity remain-

  ed basicall y unbroken, in spite of the disrupt
iv e an d demoralizing effects o f

  slavery. H e look s upo n th e economi c problem s cause d b y th e Depression ,

  especially the post-1925 migration of blacks to the North and their urbaniza-

  tion, as the mai n reaso n fo r th e difficultie s o f the lower-class black famil y

  today.

  3. Hi s real name is mentioned only once. Significantly this is in class, where his

  teacher calls him Eddie instead of his familiar pet name (p. 24 f.).

  4. Agai n thi s take s plac e a t school , where Sonny's ordeal occurs (p. 24 f.).

  Miss Hebert , th e teacher , recognize s th e boy' s agon y and , t o hi s surprise,

  treats him as what he is: a child in distress.

  5. Rut h Laney , "A Conversation with Ernest Gaines," Southern Review N.S.

  10 (1974), pp. 6-7.

  168

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  Gaines' novels are:

  Catherine Cannier. New York, 1964.

  Of Love and Dust. New York, 1967.

  The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. New York, 1971.

  Major secondary sources:

  Jerry, H. Bryant, "From Death to Life : Th e Fiction of Ernest J. Gaines,"

  Iowa Review, 3 (1973), 106-120.

  Bryant, "Ernes t J . Gaines : Change , Growth , an d History, " Southern

  Review U.S., 10(1974), 1-14.

  Winfried L . Stoelting, "Human Dignity and Pride in the Novels of Ernest

  Gaines," CLA Journal, 14 (1971), 340-358.

  169

  Peter Freese

  JAMES BALDWIN

  GOING TO MEET THE MAN

  (1965)

  Whoever debases others is debasing himself.

  That is not a mystical statement but a most

  realistic one, which is proved by the eyes

  of any Alabama sheriff.

  James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time.

  James Arthu r Baldwin , bor n i n Harle m i n 1924 , gre w up a s the

  eldest o f nin e children in a world of poverty, racial discrimination,

  and store-front-churc h fanaticism . I n 194 8 he ran awa y fro m th e

  pressures o f th e ghett o and, lik e man y America n writer s befor e

  him, went t o Paris. During the thirteen years of his European exile

  he mad e th e "Th e Discover y o f Wha t I t Mean s to B e an Ameri-

  can,"1 finishe d tw o novels, and wrote his first collectio n of essays.

  The centra l concern s o f thes e earl y work s wer e the searc h fo r a

  usable past an d a n acceptable identit y on the basis of a reconcilia-

  tion wit h th e blac k man' s collectiv e an d individua l history , th e

  hidden connexion s betwee n sexualit y an d racism , th e liberatio n

  from internalize d role-stereotypes, and the painful accommodation

  in a culture an d languag e which for centuries had barred the Afro -

  American from participatio n on equal terms, but which proved the

  only on e a t his disposal. When Baldwi n cam e back t o Americ a in

  1957 as a successful youn g author , h e foun d hi s autobiographical

  sources exhausted an d hi s initial them e o f reconciliatio n with self

  and worl d grow n stale.2 Moreover , hi s stric t distinctio n betwee n

  literature and sociology, art and propaganda, a result of the literary

  parricide whic h was meant to free him from th e disturbing shadow

  of hi s grea t predecesso r an d forme r benefacto r Richar d Wright ,

  had los t it s persuasive power in the face of American reality. Thus

  the death o f Wrigh t i n 196 0 wa s lik e a signal , for no w Baldwi n

  could giv e in t o his growing urge to protest without being accused

  of imitatin g Wright . Promptl y hi s ne w novel , Another Country

  (1962), whic h instantly becam e a bestseller mostl y fo r th e wrong

  reasons, turned out, in many respects, to be the very kind of protest

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  novel he ha d formerl y denounced . And his third volume of essays,

  probably hi s mos t influentia l boo k t o date , replaced th e promis e

  of salvatio n wit h th e threa t o f retribution, and the announcement

  of th e birt h o f Chris t — Go Tell It on the Mountain — whic h ha d

  served as a title for Baldwin's first novel , turned into God's warning

  after th e delug e tha t ther e woul d b e n o mor e water, but The Fire

  Next Time. Durin g th e followin g year s Baldwi n enjoye d a n im -

  mense popularit y an d becam e a leading figure i n th e Civi l Right s

  Movement. Bu t h e wa s forced t o realiz e tha t h e coul d no t b e an

  artist an d a publi c spokesma n a t th e sam e time , an d whil e stil l

  being pampered b y whit e liberal America he had to face a growing

  antagonism i n hi s ow n camp , wher e th e adherent s o f a blac k

  aesthetic denounce d hi s claims fo r universalit y a s assimilationism

  or, like Cleaver , reviled hi m as a literary Uncl e Tom because of his

  idealistic lov e ethics. Baldwi n fled again and, in 1970 , retired for a

  second tim e int o hi s Europea n exil e i n th e sout h o f France . His

  more recen t publication s hav e bee n decidedl y les s successful tha n

  his earlie r work , an d hi s lates t novel , If Beale Street Could Talk

  (1974), wa s almos t unanimousl y rejecte d a s a complet e failure .

  The questio n o f whethe r Baldwin' s exceptional talen t will be able

  to surviv e tha t "wa r betwee n hi s [i.e . the black artist's] social and

  artistic responsibilities" 3 whic h Baldwi n ha d onc e detecte d in the

  works o f Langsto n Hughes , ca n onl y b e answere d b y hi s futur e

  development.

  In 1965 , at th e heigh t o f hi s fame, Baldwi n publishe d hi s only

  volume o f shor t storie s t o date . O f te n storie s whic h ha d bee n

  printed betwee n 194 8 and 196 2 in magazine s as diverse a s Made-

  moiselle an d Partisan Review h e selecte d five for thi s collection .

  Four o f th e othe r fiv e ha d bee n prepublications of parts of novels

  in progres s and thus were no longer available, while the fifth, "Th e

  Death o f th e Prophet " {Commentary, Marc h 1950) , ma y hav e

  been too openly autobiographical for another publication. To these

  five reprints, one of which was written as far back as 1948, Baldwin

  added, wit h "Th e Rockpile," "The Man Child," and the title story,

  three hithert o unpublishe d pieces . This collection, Going to Meet

  the Man, becam e a great succes s with th e genera l reading public,

  but i t go t rathe r mixe d reviews , and, wit h th e possibl e exceptio n

  of "Sonny's Blues,"4 s o far Baldwin's stories have scarcely attracted

  any sustaine d critica l commentary . Thi s is regrettable becaus e a n

  early story like "Previous Condition" contains nearly all the themes

  172

  and technique s Baldwi n wa s t o unfol d i n hi s oeuvre and thu s

  serves a s a useful introductio n t o a n understanding o f hi s work, 5

  an ambiguou s parabl e lik e "Th e Ma n Child " merit s th e closes t

  scrutiny, an d th e highl y controversia l "Goin g to Meet the Man" is

  one o f th e mos t brillian t amon g th e ric h cro p o f contemporar y

  Afro-American stories .

  It wa s only i n th e fal l o f 195 7 tha t Baldwin , th e urba n North -

  erner, visite d th e Sout h fo r th e firs t time , and h e wen t there , as

  he state s i n hi s "Nobod y Know s M y Name : A Lette r fro m th e

  South," wit h hi s mind "fille d wit h th e imag e o
f a black man, ... ,

  hanging from a tree, while white men watched him and cut his sex

  from hi m wit h a knife." 6 I t i s thi s nightmaris h imag e o f th e

  'strange fruit ' o f th e sexles s blac k ma n hangin g fro m a tree tha t

  lies a t th e cor e o f "Goin g t o Mee t th e Man " ("GMM" ) an d tha t

  puts th e stor y i n a group with other narratives about the 'lynching

  bee' like Faulkner's "Dry September, " Caldwell's "Saturday After -

  noon," o r Wright' s "Bi g Bo y Leave s Home." 7 Bu t th e stor y ha s

  also a topical significance, as it alludes directly to the events of the

  sixties i n Alabama . I n Octobe r 196 3 Baldwi n wen t Sout h agai n

  to hel p Jame s Forman, the executiv e secretar y o f SNCC , t o

  launch a Negro-vote r registratio n driv e in Selma , Alabama . Ther e

  he encountere d Jame s Clark, th e Dalla s County sherif f know n a s

  Big Jim Clar k an d notoriou s fo r his violent measures against black

  demonstrators. I t seem s quite obviou s that thi s man serve d as the

  model for the "Big Jim C." (201 )8 o f the story who is also engaged

  in dispersing a line of demonstrators claiming the right "to register"

  (201). Eve n th e recurrin g motif o f th e lonel y ca r whos e lights hit

  the shutter s o f a roo m an d frighte n th e peopl e insid e (cf . 199 ,

  209, 218 ) seem s to come directly from Baldwin' s own experience:

  telling Fer n Marj a Eckma n abou t hi s secret nightl y meetin g wit h

  Forman, he said:

  We were sitting around talking .. . And then you'd realize that a car was

  coming. And that everyon e was listening .. . And the car would — you'd

  see the lights of the car pass the window. In this total silence. And you'd

  be aware that everyone, including you, was waiting for bullets. Or a bomb.

  And the car would pass and you'd go to the blinds and look out...9

  Thus the story , whic h mus t hav e been writte n betwee n 196 3 and

  1965, combine s Baldwin' s persona l experience s in th e South with

  his almost obsessiv e concer n wit h th e hidden connexions between

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  racism an d sexuality , an d it migh t b e read a s a fictional variatio n

  upon hi s earlier statemen t tha t th e inexorable la w that "whoeve r