The Black American Short Story in the 20th Century

by Peter Bruck

  form o f wealt h an d possibl e socia l preferment ; th e kin d h e woul d

  later rejec t i n hi s essa y "Tokenism : 30 0 Year s fo r Fiv e Cents." 6

  Education mean t fo r th e intelligen t blac k th e opportunit y o f

  joining th e growin g rank s o f th e blac k middle-class , i t als o repre -

  sented, in Baraka's view, a temporar y alienatio n fro m traditiona l

  black values:

  And i n thi s clas s sat 30 dreary son s and daughters of such circumstance.

  Specifically, the thriving children of the thriving urban lower middle clas-

  ses. Postmen's sons and factory-worker debutantes . Making a great run for

  America, now prosperity and the war had silenced for a time the intelligent

  cackle of tradition, (p. 6)

  Although Baraka was proud t o note suc h tradition a s there was still

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  to b e foun d i n hi s famil y — h e recall s a class photograph o f hi s

  mother who m h e imagine s surrounde d b y angels , "carryin g lif e

  from ou r ancestors " — h e ha d t o loo k elsewher e fo r sign s o f a

  living blac k tradition. 7 Eve n th e loca l Baptis t churc h Baraka

  attended a s a bo y ha d t o impor t spiritua l group s fro m outside ,

  while a t Graham' s th e "historie s an d rhythms " (p . 73 ) o f jaz z

  spoke t o bu t a few , an d the n onl y t o th e poor , no t th e futur e

  middle-class black:

  And these carefully scrubbe d childre n o f my parent's friends fattene d o n

  their rhythms until they could join the Urban League or Household Finance

  and hound the poor for their honesty, (p. 74)

  The mora l ambivalenc e experience d b y a n aspirin g blac k woul d

  meet Baraka at ever y stag e o f hi s early career . Eac h ste p forwar d

  on th e socia l scal e migh t becom e a ste p furthe r awa y fro m hi s

  racial identity.

  A fulle r realizatio n o f thi s cam e naturall y enoug h late r i n

  Baraka's educational career . Accordin g t o Baraka, it wa s his stay

  at Howar d Universit y tha t reall y "shocke d m e into realizin g how

  desperately sic k th e Negr o could be." 8 Perhap s it would be point-

  less t o giv e an y precis e dat e t o Baraka's perception o f th e mora l

  ambiguities surroundin g th e blac k colleg e student , bu t hi s stor y

  "The Alternative " fro m Tales reveals the narrato r a s endangered

  by th e los s of hi s black culture , and at the same time alienated by

  the white . Onc e more i t i s to jazz tha t Baraka returns t o expres s

  the divorc e o f th e blac k middle-class fro m thei r culture . I n "Th e

  Alternative," a certain Professo r Gorsu n sit s brooding over jazz in

  the fine-art s building : "Goddami t none of that nigger music in my

  new building . Culture . Goddamit , ladie s an d gentlemen , lin e u p

  and be baptized." (p. 23)

  The readines s o f th e blac k establishmen t t o sacrific e thei r

  culture, as if it were artistically inferior t o western culture, was the

  specific malais e Baraka was at pains to identify an d exorcise. Since

  jazz i s regarde d b y Baraka as "on e o f th e fe w area s o f huma n

  expression" stil l availabl e t o th e black , an d sinc e it s cultura l

  integrity was untainted by a desire to compete with white literature

  which ha s corrupted black fiction, jazz has been treated by Baraka

  as the measure of the black tradition. 9

  It i s fo r thi s reaso n tha t th e ritual s o f baptism , initiation, an d

  sacrifice o r deat h for m th e structur e o f play s like The Dutchman

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  (1964), o r Black Mass (1965). Baraka has a quite different for m o f

  baptism i n his head tha n Professo r Gorsun , th e guardian o f white

  values. And yet the kind of clarity that the dramas display was not

  so apparent to the graduate of Howard, who started life as a writer

  in th e Greenwic h Villag e o f th e lat e fifties. On the one hand were

  the libera l whit e poets , i n particula r th e Blac k Mountai n group ,

  Olson, Creeley , an d Dorn ; on th e othe r hand , Ornett e Colemand

  and Do n Cherry.10 Barak a found himsel f editin g the works of the

  white literar y avant-gard e an d promotin g the new jazz at the same

  time.11 Th e Greenwich Villag e years, that woul d las t unti l he left

  for Harle m i n th e summe r of 1965 , were an invaluable apprentice-

  ship fo r Baraka, but th e attemp t t o fre e himsel f fro m thei r moral

  ambiguities i s partl y reflecte d i n th e first collectio n o f storie s

  Baraka was t o publis h i n Ne w York , "A System of Dante's In-

  ferno" (19 59).

  It i s guilt, moral evasion , the si n o f failin g t o identif y wit h the

  language an d value s o f blac k cultur e tha t characterize s Baraka's

  first important contributio n t o blac k fiction. A System of Dante's

  Inferno i s an early effor t b y Baraka to find a means of expressing

  his blac k identit y usin g the biographica l material s o f his progress

  from Newar k t o Greenwic h Village . Baraka's own early vacillation

  between th e world s o f blac k an d whit e cultur e i s projecte d i n

  terms o f "Th e Neutrals " whic h i s se t in Newar k an d deal s with

  the Methodist church he attended with his parents:

  Natives dow n th e street . Al l dead . All walkin g slowl y toward s thei r lives.

  Already, each Sunday forever. 12

  Baraka will repeat thes e lines years later in the conclusion to "Th e

  Alternative." Th e significanc e o f thi s fac t lie s surel y i n Baraka's

  seeing in hi s fiction th e right medium fo r explorin g th e them e o f

  moral ambiguit y an d the related problem of black expression.

  In term s of Baraka's publishing career it wa s the plays, not th e

  poetry an d shor t stories , that were to make him famous. After th e

  production o f Dutchman (1964) , Baraka reached a nationa l

  audience. Jus t ove r a yea r late r h e brok e wit h th e Greenwic h

  Village group t o all intents and purposes, and left fo r Harlem. As a

  writer, hi s caree r wa s als o t o mov e fro m poe t an d shor t stor y

  writer t o playwright , an d finally t o essayis t an d spokesma n fo r

  black culture . Unfortunately, th e neglect of his fiction o n account

  of its reliance o n private experienc e an d the difficulty o f its prose

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  style stil l leave s a considerabl e critica l gap . Th e stud y o f th e

  stories, while it does not entirel y alte r ou r picture of Baraka, does

  help u s t o understan d bette r th e developmen t o f hi s prose . I t

  reminds u s tha t th e assertiv e styl e o f hi s essays on blac k expres -

  sion, Home (1965 ) and Raise, Race, Raze (1969) , are but the final

  product of much doubt and soul-searching.

  For us , th e yea r 195 9 i s importan t t o a n understandin g o f

  Baraka's beginnings as a fiction writer . In this year Baraka publishes

  two essay s by Olson, "Projective Verse," and the "Letter to Elaine

  Feinstein;" i t i s to b e th e star t o f a long and fruitful relationship .

  Baraka's first respons e t o Olson' s ideas on expressio n "Ho w Yo u

  Sound??" appeare d tha t sam e year. 13 A t first, a s Baraka's essay

  makes clear , i t wa s Olson' s theorie s o n "Projectiv e Verse " tha t

  attracted him
, bu t a s Olso n expande d o n thes e theme s i n hi s

  cryptic an d difficul t "Lette r t o Elain e Feinstein, " th e ex-philos -

  opher mino r fro m Howar d kep t pace . Baraka made goo d sense of

  Olson's ideas an d turned them to his own purposes.

  In th e years that followed Baraka became increasingly articulat e

  on th e subjec t o f Olso n an d expressive language. So much so, that

  he is far easie r t o read an d hi s ideas have a far greate r circulation

  now tha n Olson's . Undoubtedly , Baraka's early interes t i n th e

  relationship o f phenomenolog y t o literatur e gav e hi m unqiu e

  insights int o Olson . Fo r example , th e thre e ke y idea s o n th e

  writer's abilit y t o name correctly , t o place himsel f i n th e rea l

  world an d t o creat e a mean s o f expressio n mor e authenti c tha n

  that o f social reality Olso n derive d ultimately from Heidegge r and

  phenomenology.14 Barak a began hi s essay s o n expressio n wit h

  "How Yo u Sound?? " (1959) , quotin g bot h th e "Heideggeria n

  Umwelt" an d Olson's , "Projectiv e Verse." 15 Late r h e woul d

  simply lis t hi s influence s a s "Olson, Heidegger " an d declar e him -

  self "secure d t o phenomenolog y an d religion." 16 Bu t th e mai n

  bond betwee n th e tw o friend s wa s their attac k on the false values

  expressed b y th e "Peopl e the poet Charles Olson called 'the pimps

  of progress.'"17

  We can begin discussing "The Alternative" in more simple terms,

  without referenc e t o eithe r Olso n o r phenomenology. Right away

  we notice tha t it is a difficult stor y to read. Such plot as we find is

  interrupted b y th e narrator' s privat e sensations , his memories, his

  desires. Broke n conversation s an d quotation s distrac t th e reade r

  away from th e narrative. What is being said is clearly less important

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  than ho w it i s being said. The clas h betwee n languag e an d expe -

  rience is deliberate. Baraka wants t o involv e us in th e conflic t o f

  the differen t perceptua l world s o f th e narrato r an d hi s friends .

  Ray's rejectio n o f th e languag e o f socia l realit y determines th e

  plot. Thu s th e social , th e clea r logi c o f norma l pros e i s fel t in -

  adequate b y Baraka. How explai n th e comple x confusio n tha t

  attends the babble of tongues on this particular night in a dormitory

  of Howard University ?

  This becomes in many respect s th e tas k o f the narrator-hero or

  "leader" a s Baraka calls him . Th e narrator , thoug h h e talk s and

  acts, exists for th e reade r mor e as a state of mind. He is peculiarly

  isolated fro m hi s fellows , considerin g tha t h e i s suppose d t o b e

  their leader . I n fac t hi s fall i s felt t o b e imminent: "Man , we do

  not nee d cat s like tha t i n th e frat . '(Agreed)'. " (p . 9) I n term s of

  plot, thi s is important a s we shall see , but in this story perceptio n

  is prio r t o plot . Th e mai n differenc e betwee n th e her o an d hi s

  peers i s tha t the y inhabi t differen t perceptua l worlds . Thes e

  different world s require different mode s of expression.

  It i s th e leade r afte r all , wh o brood s o n th e meanin g Camus'

  lines hav e in term s o f hi s life, not th e othe r students . I f a n alter -

  native wa y o f lookin g a t one' s experience ha s to b e found , the n

  this is the leader's job alone. Camus had written:

  This may not see m like much, but it makes a difference. And there are

  those who prefer to look their fate in the eyes. (p. 5)

  Baraka uses thi s a s th e ironi c mott o o f hi s story whic h s o lacks

  the "lucidity " tha t Camu s ha d hope d t o achieve . Th e familia r

  existential them e i s there : a ma n mus t choose , an d h e mus t

  choose a n authenti c existence. 18 Th e ide a o f authenti c identit y

  does hav e relevanc e fo r blac k literature , bu t surel y Baraaka is

  more intereste d i n th e problem s tha t lookin g you r fac e i n th e

  eyes migh t pos e fo r a black . Quit e apar t fro m th e individua l

  meaning o f Camus ' words , ho w doe s a blac k loo k a t hi s "fate, "

  and mor e important , ho w woul d h e choos e t o expres s it ? I t i s

  my belie f tha t "Th e Alternative " a s a whol e explore s a n alter -

  native way.

  Returning t o th e plot w e see the leade r unhappy an d isolated ,

  facing th e prospec t o f a palace revolt. H e entertains th e pleasin g

  paradox that , althoug h h e may b e though t t o lose , it is in fact his

  friends wh o wil l be portrayed a s losers. The narrator' s revenge , if

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  so w e migh t cal l it , lie s i n th e writin g o f th e stor y itself . Thu s

  when th e plo t develop s int o a conflic t betwee n a n ex-riva l Ric k

  and Ray , th e leader , ove r whethe r th e student s shoul d g o an d

  eavesdrop o n a homosexua l affai r a certai n Bobb y Hutchen s i s

  having i n hi s room , i t i s Ric k wh o win s th e other s ove r to go an d

  have a look . Ray' s attemp t t o sto p Ric k i s answere d b y violence ,

  there is a fight, an d th e stor y end s with th e leade r o n th e floor .

  If th e ke y t o th e stor y la y i n th e plot , n o mor e woul d nee d t o

  be said . However , w e mus t tak e a n alternativ e view . Mos t o f th e

  students ar e interpretin g thei r socia l roles . They ar e regarded wit h

  frank iron y b y th e hero-narrato r a s th e heir s apparen t o f middle -

  class mediocrity . A s the y stan d outsid e th e homosexua l student' s

  room, shoutin g thei r facil e abuse , Ra y see s the m i n thei r futur e

  roles:

  Doctors, judges, first negro director of welfare chain, morticians, chemists,

  ad man, fighters for civi l rights, all admirable, useful men . "BREAK THE

  FUCKIN' DOOR OPEN, RICK! YEH!" (p. 28)

  The suppose d mora l superiorit y o f thes e black s ove r thei r fello w

  student i s belie d b y thei r irrationa l an d violen t language . Th e

  fraudulent "authorit y o f th e socia l grace " (p . 15 ) tha t motivate s

  all thei r action s i s characteristic o f Ric k (p . 10 ) and th e dictatoria l

  floor procto r Mr . Bush. Bu t in th e cas e of Bush , this kind o f mora l

  stance derive s fro m whit e wester n culture , no t fro m black . Thu s

  Mr. Bus h remind s Ra y o f "Gregor y a t Canossa , raging softly i n hi s

  dignity an d power. " (p . 15 )

  Significantly, Ray' s onl y over t victory i s in a duel o f word s wit h

  this sam e Mr . Bush . Th e student s wh o hav e bee n cookin g an d

  drinking i n their room against dormitory regulations are interrupted

  by Bush . Th e strang e smel l mad e b y th e por k chop s that ar e no w

  burning th e wast e pape r i n th e baske t wher e the y hav e bee n

  hidden, i s plausibl y explaine d awa y b y th e leader. Bus h begins his

  rebuke t o th e student s a s follows :

  "What ar e you running here, a boy's club?" (That's it.) He could narrow

  his eye s eve n i n tha t affluence . Pu t hi s hands o n hi s hips. Shov e tha t

  stomach at you as proof he was an authority of the social grace ... a western

  man, no matter the color of his skin. (pp. 15-16)

  Ray quickl y analyse s bot h th e impor t o f Bush' s word s an d th
e

  gestures tha t accompan y hi s performance . Ra y understand s t o

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  which worl d thi s languag e belongs . Bush's words derive from wha t

  Baraka had calle d i n "Expressiv e Language " "th e semanti c ritual s

  of power, " b y whic h whit e societ y project s it s imag e an d enforce s

  its will. 19 Bush' s succes s a t Howar d i s a measur e o f ho w wel l h e

  can appropriat e th e whit e code . Bush , unlik e Ray , i s busily trans -

  lating himsel f int o thi s othe r worl d wher e blac k value s get turne d

  upside down . Ray' s ow n visio n o f th e mora l conflic t tha t order s

  the actio n o f thi s evenin g i s expresse d earl y o n i n th e story . Th e

  leader's allegianc e i s t o th e street s o f Ne w York , an d i n particula r

  to th e memor y o f hi s friend , th e strugglin g jaz z saxophonist ,

  Jimmy Lassiter . Ray' s memor y o f Lassite r keep s aliv e in his min d

  a regio n o f experience , th e othe r student s neve r kne w o r hav e

  chosen t o forget :

  Those blue and empty afternoon s I saw him walking at my side. Criminals

  in tha t world . Complet e heroe s o f ou r time . (ad d Alle n to complete an

  early splinter group. Muslim heroes with flapping pants. Raincoats. Trolley

  car romances.) (p. 8)

  The mora l ambiguitie s tha t resul t fro m Baraka's ironic applicatio n

  of Camus ' word s fro m "Betwee n Ye s an d No, " reflec t th e antag -

  onism o f th e colonize d toward s th e languag e o f th e maste r race .

  When Baraka observes late r i n Tales i n hi s essa y "Words " that , a s

  a writer , h e i s forced t o spea k "i n th e languag e o f a n alien Tribe, "

  (p. 90 ) h e i s bu t echoin g th e crie s o f man y blac k Africa n writer s

  before him . Baraka is aware , a s perhap s w e ar e not , tha t Camu s

  was a bourgeois-libera l interpretin g hi s fat e i n term s o f th e super -

  iority o f Europea n culture. 20

  Whether o r no t Baraka was this unsympathetic t o Camus woul d

  perhaps b e difficul t t o prove , tha t h e coul d identif y wit h Charle s

  Olson's attac k o n th e languag e an d value s o f "th e pimp s o f pro -

  gress" i n the America n establishmen t i s more openly demonstrable .

  As lat e a s 196 4 i n hi s essa y "LeRo i Jone s Talking, " Baraka is