A reflection of circumstances

The origins of Africans in America are rooted in violence. As a people, African-Americans would not even be present in this country if not for the slave trade during America’s formation. Slavery is by definition an exercise in suffering, as the victims are treated as subhuman. I see this as being reflected in the literature of African-Americans. Violence pervades their experiences. Their history is in fact built upon it. Even through the early part of the 20^th century, racially based murders were common in the South. The authors we are reading lived through these turbulent times, and their experiences were molded by them.

Baldwin’s “Going to Meet the Man” is a particularly poignant example. In the story, we get an extremely graphic depiction of a lynching. I am not sure if Baldwin ever witnessed this act in person, but even if he never did, his description is likely very accurate. The violence we see here is obviously shocking to the reader, but for the characters involved, it is thrilling, exhilarating, and entirely justified. Despite the inhumane and torturous act, the people carrying it out feel as if they are carrying out God’s will, or something equally deranged and misguided.

Quicksand to me does not depict suffering in the same way. Helga Crane’s turmoil is internal, and indirectly a result of her situation. Her problems stem from an unhealthy childhood, although it could be said that her half-black, half-white genes exacerbated the problem. Still, I see Helga’s suffering as not so much a continuation of the plight of blacks in America but more a result of a traumatic upbringing.

Gabriel’s Story, although I am only about a third of the way through, feels like it is going to explode into a rousing, violent epic. As of my posting this, I haven’t begun the second part of the novel, so I am still unsure of what will befall Gabriel and James during their journey. I think, however, that there will be a violent confrontation at some point, resulting in the death of one of the boys, most likely James.