Discuss How Ralph Ellison and Langston Hughes Explore The Interrelated Challenges of Race and Gender For African Americans PDF

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The intertwining of issues presented by gender and race is evident in the works of both Ralph Ellison and Langston Hughes. Hughes explores how African American men are affected by the roles ascribed to them as men, and subsequently how they are unable to fulfil them due to their status as African Am...

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Discuss How Ralph Ellison and Langston Hughes Explore the Interrelated Challenges of Race and Gender for African Americans, Whether Men or Women

The intertwining of issues presented by gender and race is evident in the works of both Ralph Ellison and Langston Hughes. Hughes explores how African American men are affected by the roles ascribed to them as men, and subsequently how they are unable to fulfil them due to their status as African American. Ellison, similarly explores how African American men are feminised by their interaction with their white counterparts, and how white men exploit their superior status to vicariously derive gratification from them. In Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man the battle royal is illustrative of the relationship between black and white men. Kim argues that the scene gives “voice to the psychic motivations of white men: specifically, they derive erotic gratification from their racist practices”1 He speaks much about the complex use of black male bodies in this scene, and their multiple meanings. The scene can be viewed as an expression of desires repressed by white men. The ballroom is a location in which they can indulge in their homoerotic, racist and sadistic desires. Lane Argues that “Black people become recognizable only when they supressed their real self and conformed to emasculating parodies of the white man’s self.”2 This argument is particularly relevant to the battle royal scene, as it illustrates the white male perception of the black boys. The narrator notes that by day all of them are upstanding members of the community who treat him with respect, (as he displays a certain meekness of character) but in this removed setting reveal their true nature. Their pleasure is derived from seeing the black bodies inflict and receive physical pain- “If you don’t get him I’m going to get you”3. By forcing them to fight one another, they can vicariously act out their racist impulses. Similarly, by placing the boys in the position between them and the female dancer, the white men use the boys as an enablers. If the physical fight enabled them to act out their violent impulses, their placement in front of the dancer forces them to act as a “prosthetic device”4for their sexual desires. This is a complex notion as Kim maintains that the boys act as a catalyst for the white men’s desire, but they are also the object of it. With the white male gaze upon them, and their erect penises visible, the object of the black body is simultaneously fulfilling two functions. The 1 Kim, Daniel Y. “Invisible Desires: Homoerotic Racism and Its Homophobic Critique in Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man.”” NOVEL: A Forum on Fiction 30.3 (1997): P 309 2 Lane, James B. “Underground to Manhood: Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man.” Negro American Literature Forum 7.2 (Jan. 1973): P65 3 Ellison, Ralph. Invisible. P 22 4 Kim, Daniel Y. “Invisible Desires” P 314

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narrator’s response to the dancer is also a complex one. It might be seen as a realization of the way his own body is being objectified. “I saw the terror and disgust in her eyes, almost like my own terror and that which I saw in some of the other boys.”5 By aligning these two objects of white male desire, the black boys becomes feminized by their gaze. In addition, Ellison comments on how Patriarchal systems are interwoven with racism. Both women and black males are subordinate to white male power, their bodies are objects beyond their control that exist for the gratification of white men. Ellison also criticises the tradition of white male philanthropy directed towards Black colleges, like the one depicted in the novel. A tradition he witnessed first-hand whilst studying at the Tuskegee Institute.6The wealthy white benefactor, Norton repeatedly refers to his responsibility to the college and how their fate is intertwined with his own. He also links his goals with the college to his deceased beloved daughter, stating that “everything I’ve done since her passing has been a monument to her memory”7 Kim makes the argument that Ellison is making a Freudian critique of this tradition.8With the passing of his daughter, Norton fills his life with advancing the position of young African Americans, who act as a surrogate for his child. If we are to further the argument that the novel illustrates a feminization of black males by their white counterparts, we might apply it to this example: Norton’s daughter is “delicate” with much emphasis placed on her feminine beauty.9 If Norton has substituted her for the college, or more specifically the narrator himself, this could be considered a feminisation of the character. The paternal love Norton affords him becomes a force for emasculation. Another troubling aspect of Norton’s character is the incestuous tone of his love for his daughter. This becomes apparent when the narrator takes him to visit Trueblood. Located in the outskirts of the college campus, Trueblood is an outcast of the community because of his incestuous relationship with his daughter, he becomes a subject of fascination for Norton. Furthering his Freudian critique of the character, Kim maintains that Norton harbours similar feelings for his own daughter10 as Trueblood has acted on the sexual desire that he, Norton has spent his life repressing. Further evidence of this can be seen in the way Norton attempts

5 Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man P 21 6 Kim, Daniel Y. “Invisible Desires” P 318 7Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man P 40 8 Kim, Daniel Y. “Invisible Desires” P 318 9 Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man P 39 10 Kim, Daniel Y. “Invisible Desires” P 317

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to distance himself from being her parent “I found it difficult to believe her my own…”11 By creating this distance, he removes himself from the taboo of incestuous desire and maintains his respectability. By setting up a parallel between Trueblood- a man who acted upon his desires, and Norton- a man who makes every effort to repress the same desires Ellison calls back to the battle royal scene. We see a repetition of the same concept at play, a white man gawks at the sexuality of a black man because it satisfies his own desires. By hearing Trueblood’s tale, Norton vicariously fulfils his own, whilst escaping with his respectability intact. In contrast, Langston Hughes’ poem Scotttsboro focuses on the value placed on black lives by the white system of hierarchy. Borden argues that in his exploration of male identity the convergence of gender and race is emphasised.12 Much of the poem is given to likening the boys to martyrs of history, by aligning these figures Hughes makes the implication that the very act of survival is political, due to a combination of their race and gender. We see the value that the world affords to these boys in the following line: “8 black boys and one white lie/ is it much to die.”13 By asking is it much to die, Hughes mimics the voice of the white perpetrators who are lowering the status of death to make it seem as if it is not such a harsh ordeal for the boys. Perhaps suggesting that they deserve death, and that to be granted with this prospect will be no less than they deserve. This phrase also works to de value the lives of African American boys. By contrasting eight black boys with the one white lie, Hughes illustrates the idea that the value of their combined lives is equal to the sum of one white person’s word. Borden also argues that by likening the boys to historical martyrs, he makes the subject of their survival as African American males, a political act.14 The effect of this places value back onto the lives of the boys, and characterises their potential deaths as part of a noble and worthy cause. Of course the problem with this interpretation is that the boys are not civil rights activists or striving for any great social change, unlike Ghandi, or Nat Turner. But rather the very act of living their lives as African American males has forced them into the position of unwilling martyrs for a cause they were never overtly fighting for. There is also the troubling factor that they are in fact children, who are forced into this position. By 11 Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man P 39

12 Borden, Anne. “Heroic “Hussies” and “Brilliant Queers”: Genderracial Resistance in the Works of Langston Hughes.” African American Review 28.3 (Jan. 1994): 337 13 Hughes, Langston. “Scottsboro”, Poetry Nook, Web, 4 Dec. 2015

14 Borden, Anne. “Heroic “Hussies” P 337 Page 3 of 7

likening them to martyrs, their deaths become justified somehow and what was the meaningless and unjust death of children becomes a political symbol. This brings about the injustice of their position, that by simply existing in their prescribed race and gender, these symbols are forced upon them. Borden argues that Hughes questions the binary constructions of gender identity in his work.15 The poem Same in Blues does much to illustrate the frustrations of the African American male. The form of the dialogue between men and women in this poem is typical of Hughes as it is in the format of the blues. By placing the dialogue in this form, Hughes taps into the African American tradition of conveying hardship through the use of song. The man in the poem is unable to fulfil the role ascribed to him as a husband and provider. The systems of white patriarchy that control how far he succeeds in the world are set against him from birth. His gender and race conspire against him, culminating in what Borden describes as a “genderracial problem”16 His displacement from society leaves him wearied, unable to provide financially for his family, he is ashamed and frustrated. He is even unable to express sentiment towards his daughter because of the troubles he has faced in his life. “Daddy, daddy, daddy/ All I want is you/You can have me baby— /but my lovin' days is through.”17His daughter is content with her Father’s love alone, but there is a sense that this will not be enough. He downgrades himself by saying he is unable to love any more. Whilst displaying a sense of fatigue, he also conditions his daughter not to expect too much from her inadequate Father. The repetition of the word Daddy, is heavy with responsibility, it is also a gendered word that carries with it connotations of prescribed masculinity. The genderracial problems facing this man mean that he cannot fully embody the role of a father, in this sense he is emasculated by society and stripped of all purpose. By telling his daughter that his loving days are through, the character is removing himself from typically feminine emotions. By doing this he reasserts the masculinity that society has stripped of him. This is similar to Lenard’s response to Lou’s request for a diamond ring, “You won't get a goddamn thing!”18 This is perhaps overly aggressive. In this statement he warns his female dependant of expecting too much from him, whilst ensuring his masculine status is still intact by delivering the disappointment with such aggressive language. 15 Borden, Anne. “Heroic “Hussies” P 338 16 Ibid 17 Hughes Langston. “Same In Blues”, Poetry Pill, Web, 2 Apr. 2011 18 Ibid

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It might also be useful to examine the poem Southern Mammy in response to this. Miller argues that by the time that Hughes writes this poem he has become wearied by the struggle for equal rights in America, and this is reflected in the mouthpiece of the Mammy figure19 He argues that she lacks the determination and spirituality that characterised the women of some of Hughes’ earlier work. Like the male protagonist in Same in Blues, Mammy is also characterised by her weariness,“Lawd!/ I am getting’ tired.”20 But rather than being stripped of her femininity, the roles afforded to her by her gender and race strip her of any identity she once possessed. By using the stereotype of Mammy getting tired, Hughes characterises the African American race as a whole enduring a sense of fatigue at continuing inequality. He also suggests a reluctance to go on playing these roles. The combined status as an African American women (which Brox uses WEB. Du Bois’ double consciousness to characterise21) affords her with a set of different inequalities to her male counterparts. Not only is she stripped of her identity, but she is also forced into a subordinate role. We hear her address a superior with a series of “no maam , yes maam” suggesting she’s presenting her frustrations to a female employer. The effect is that Mammy becomes further degraded, her impassioned speech peppered with evidence of her subordinate status. Another aspect of her suffering is derived from her helplessness. She is forced to see the lynched boys hanging in the tree, it disturbs her deeply yet there is no course of action she can take against it. She knows the injustices acted out against her children, is powerless to change anything. Of course, the same problem is presented to African American men, but the maternal characteristics afforded to her as a woman mean that she is affected more deeply. In addition to this, her status as a Mammy, also means that her maternal attention is placed elsewhere. So by witnessing the lynched boys she might also feel a sense of guilt that her genderracial role has stolen her attention from the people who need her the most. To conclude, the issues that affect the African American race are informed by notions of race and gender. Ellison represents a feminisation of African American boys in particular by a superior white patriarchy. In the battle royal scene that takes place in Invisible Man we see an objectification of boys, which is in alignment of their treatment of the white female dancerwhich also has the effect of feminising them. Using this example we might infer that notions of racism and sexism come from the same place and have the same enforcers. We also see a 19 Miller, Baxter R. ““No Crystal Stair”: Unity, Archetype and Symbol in Langston Hughes’s Poems on Women.” Negro American Literature Forum 9.4 (Jan. 1975): 113 20 Hughes, Langston. “Southern Mammy Sings”, Poetry Foundation, Web, 5 May. 2013 21 Brox, Ali. “Simple on Satire: Langston Hughes, Gender, and Satiric Double-Consciousness.” Studies in American Humor 3.21 (2010): 20

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feminisation of African American males, as well as an exploitation of power in order to attain vicarious gratification in terms of sex and violence, whilst still possessing respectability. This is seen in the battle royal scene but also in the character of Norton, who uses Trueblood as an agent for his gratification. Similarly to Ellison’s comments on race and gender, Hughes depicts the problems that face African America men and women. We often see the prescribing of gender roles and a subsequent frustration. Due to their race they are unable to fulfil their roles and so are left feeling displaced. This is primarily seen in the poem Same in Blues. While the poem Scottsboro focuses on how race and gender conspire against African American boys, and that their very existence is a political act. Both Hughes and Ellison are in agreement that the race and gender are interlocking features of our identity that inform and prescribe certain roles to us. Both illustrate how African American men can become feminized by societal forces.

Bibliography Primary Sources:

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Ellison, Ralph. “Invisible Man” (essential Penguin). United Kingdom: Penguin Books, 7 Oct. 1999. Hughes, Langston. “Same In Blues”, Poetry Pill, Web, 2 Apr. 2011 Hughes, Langston. “Scottsboro”, Poetry Nook, Web, 4 Dec. 2015 Hughes, Langston. “Southern Mammy Sings”, Poetry Foundation, Web, 5 May. 2013 Secondary Sources: Borden, Anne. “Heroic “Hussies” and “Brilliant Queers”: Genderracial Resistance in the Works of Langston Hughes.” African American Review 28.3 (Jan. 1994): 333–345. Brox, Ali. “Simple on Satire: Langston Hughes, Gender, and Satiric DoubleConsciousness.” Studies in American Humor 3.21 (2010): 15– 28. Kim, Daniel Y. “Invisible Desires: Homoerotic Racism and Its Homophobic Critique in Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man.”” NOVEL: A Forum on Fiction 30.3 (1997): 309–328. Lane, James B. “Underground to Manhood: Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man.” Negro American Literature Forum 7.2 (Jan. 1973): 64–72. Miller, Baxter R. ““No Crystal Stair”: Unity, Archetype and Symbol in Langston Hughes’s Poems on Women.” Negro American Literature Forum 9.4 (Jan. 1975): 109–114.

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