The Man Who Was Almost a Man
This is a short story about the young African American named Dave, who is so desperate to prove his manhood that he ends up making one poor decision after the other. The narrative opens up with Dave walking back home after a tiresome day at the field. Dave is angry because he feels the other boys, like everyone else, in the field do not take him seriously. His employer, Mr. Hawkins gives his wages to his mother, Mrs. Saunders, who in turn uses it to pay for Dave’s school fees and uniform.
Dave feels he must prove himself a man. On his way back home, he visits the local gun shops and inquiries about the cost of a gun. The cashier, who is skeptical about whether he is able to pay tells Dave he is selling a pistol of two dollars. Dave promises to come back the next day with the money. At the dinner table, Dave asks his mum to give him the two dollars to purchase a gun. His mother is reluctant, but Dave argues that the family needs it for protection. Mrs. Sanders gives him the money on the condition that he brings it home immediately after the purchase.
The next day Dave buys the gun but does not give it to his mother. Instead, he wakes very early in the morning and heads to the fields taking the gun with him. He takes Mr. Hawkins mule and goes to plow on the furthest end of the field so no one will see him firing the gun. Without any experience in handling a gun, Dave mistakenly shoots Mr. Hawkins’s mule and kills it. Dave is forced to pay fifty dollars for the mule and return the gun.
Dave is embarrassed. Instead of returning the gun, he runs away from home taking the gun with him.
The story follows Fred Daniels, a black man wrongly accused of killing a white woman. Afraid of his wrongful conviction, Fred runs and hides in a manhole where he now calls home. Fred finds a metal pole sticking out of the sewage water which he uses as a mark to help him navigate the sewage tunnels.
Fred uses the tunnels to make his way around town. He makes different stops where he steals supplies to sustain him in his new home. He also uses these tunnels to spy on people. His first stop is the church where he spies on the choir and people confessing their crimes. Fred is confused over people’s need to admit their crimes to a man who deems himself holy enough to forgive people’s mistakes and give penance.
Fred also visits the mortuary where he witnesses an undertaker washing the body of a dead white man with a black coffin beside him. He feels content in knowing that racism does not exist in death. On his way back to his cave he meets a dead baby floating on the sewage water. He is frightened by the site and the cruelty of human beings.
Fred continues on these different journeys which teach him about the cruelty of human beings. In the end, he is convinced that everyone is guilty of something. He makes his way to the police station and surrenders himself despite him being innocent of the alleged crime. Fred takes solace in knowing that no man is innocent. The corrupt police in charge of his arrest demand to know where he was hiding. When they arrive at the cave, the police shoot him in the back and just like the dead infant he saw, Dave’s body floats on the sewage water.
Big Black Good Man
The story follows a white man, Olaf Jensen, who works as the night porter in a cheap motel. One night, a big black man makes his way to the motel and asks for a room. Shaken to the core and disgusted by the sheer size and dark skin of the man, Olaf shows him to his room. The black man then gives Olaf a pile of cash for safekeeping. Olaf is convinced that the man is up to no good. The man then requests for a bottle of liquor and a prostitute. Olaf sends in Lena, a part-time prostitute who knows how to handle herself when she meets abusive clients.
Olaf returns to his desk and starts to fantasize about the black man’s death. He hopes the man dies and never returns to the hotel. The man stays in for six nights all of which he spends with Lena. On his last day, he asks for his money. Olaf is ready with a gun underneath his desk, ready to shoot him if necessary. The man gets closer to Jensen and wraps his big arms around him. Jensen is convinced the man intends on strangling him. He tries to reach for his gun to no avail. Instead, he soils his trousers. The man hugs Jensen and grins at him as he makes his way out of the motel. Jensen feels embarrassed and his hate for the man boils inside him.
A year later, the man comes back. Jensen quickly informs him that there are no rooms available. The old man claims he is not looking for a room. Instead, he opens his suitcase. Again, Jensen is ready with his gun. The man takes out a white shirt and asks Jensen to see it fits him. The man takes out five more shirts and gives them to Jensen. A total of six shirts for the six nights he spent at the hotel. Jensen starts laughing and crying. The man he had harshly judged only thought good of him. Jensen concludes that he was a big black good man.
