If Beale Street Could Talk

When customers come to the Perfume Counter where Tish works (pg. 116/PDF pg. 60) what is the major, most explicit difference between the way in which Black men treat Tish and the way in which white men treat Tish?

When customers come to the Perfume Counter where Tish works (pg. 116/PDF pg. 60) what is the major, most explicit difference between the way in which Black men treat Tish and the way in which white men treat Tish?

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While she is at work, Tish thinks about the different types of customers that come to her perfume stand to smell the back of the hand. Most of the time, she is visited by white ladies who keep to the status quo. However, every once in a while, she is visited who a black man who treats her differently than the white women. Tish says they come just to look her in the eyes, and they never smell her hand but instead have her spray their hand and bring their own hand up to their noses. In contrast, a white man will hold Tish's hand up to his nostrils and "will hold it there" (116). Tish watches the crowds, with "something turning over and over and over" in her head" (116).

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If Beale Street Could Talk