The 1920s

We read two stories from the 1920s--"Blood-Burning Moon," by Jean Toomer, and "The Killers," by Ernest Hemingway. I must confess, "Blood-Burning Moon" was definitely my favorite. While I admire Hemingway for his works, he is not my favorite author. I much prefer the lyrical beauty of Toomer's work to the austerity of Hemingway's. But that is mere personal preference, so now on with the point of this post. Because we didn't have time to finish it up in class, we are to use this post to answer two questions about the stories.

Firstly, we are to examine a line from "Blood-Burning Moon," and opine on why Toomer used the words he did. The quote is as follows.

"She was worth it. Beautiful nigger gal. Why nigger? Why not, just gal? No, it was because she was a nigger that he went to her."

I had a difficult time with this quote at first, unsure of how to answer it. Why does Bob Stone go to Louisa because she is "a nigger." I had to look at other passages to finally understand, and the one that stuck in my head was on pages 63-64, where Bob Stone is having an internal monologue about Louisa.

He is fighting with himself, fighting with the old Southern values and the new. He talks about Louisa from a master's point of view, talks about "taking her" with no pretense, "direct, honest, bold," but then merely a few sentences later, he blushes at the thought of his family knowing. He blushes--such a soft word for such a tense monologue. Why is that word chosen? It's a tender word, couldn't Toomer have used "colored?" His face colored at the thought? Perhaps even reddened, or heated...why blushed?

He used it for the same reason that he used the word "love" on page 64. "He was going to see Louisa tonight, and love her." Despite all his internal arguments, Bob Stone is in love with Louisa. She represents something he could never find with a white girl. She is dark and exotic, forbidden. She satisfies his need for power, after all, he is a white man, and she is only a "nigger gal." In that time, in that culture, he could do anything he wanted. Yet he chooses not to. He chooses to meet her in the canebrake, to sneak around and respect her need for secrecy.

Why? Because he cares for her.


Our second question is from "The Killers," by Ernest Hemingway. We are to discuss what Hemingway is telling/showing his audience about life in the 1920s. My answer was actually rather succinct.

The mob is everywhere. The 1920s were not all about flappers and speakeasies, they were also a dangerous time to be in. The rise of organized crime coupled with the prevalence of automobiles made the world a dangerous place to be. If you got into trouble, then the mob would surely track you down, and there was nothing you could do to stop it. You might as well make like Old Andreson and just plain old give up.

To be a little more in depth, he also almost glorifies the mobsters. They are the hardened criminals, while the other characters in the story are mere wet-behind-ears lads. They're naive and effeminate, and are treated as such by the author. He berates them, makes fun of them, and continuously treats them like idiots, a classic move for Hemingway.

There is also the element of racism, as is evidenced by the introduction of Sam, the diner's cook. It actually takes a good 17 lines to establish the fact that "the nigger" has a name.

To sum up, Hemingway has established a world where fear is a part of life. There are new methods of crime, and new avenues in which crime can be carried out. No matter where you are or how far you run, they will track you down and kill you.

Sure sounds like a fun place to be, if you ask me.