The Black American Short Story in the 20th Century Read online

  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