The African-American Dream

In my group at the beginning of the day, we discussed the significance of the dreams that Bob has at the beginning of the text. The book opens with a seemingly bizarre and unconnected series of dreams that include Bob buying a dog, the investigation of the murder of Frankie Childs, and Bob being laughed at and embarrassed by two white men. Something interesting about these three dreams is that they almost form a pattern; the investigation is clearly racially motivated and the two white men laughing at Bob are definitely racists, Hines putting the two men in a dominating and powerful position. The outlier is the dream about the dog, which doesn't seem to be about anything at all. I'm interested in whether or not these dreams might form a pattern, or if not, the meaning behind the breaking of the pattern. On page 6, Bob admits that "the only place [he] felt safe was in bed asleep." Maybe the first dream about the dog is representative of some sort of economic power disparity, as Bob does not ask to buy the dog but is pretty aggressively sold it. Maybe the first dream is a counterpoint to the increasingly racist dreams, to show how prejudice rules every aspect of Bob's life, starting even before he's awake. Bob says he wakes up scared, and that he feels safe when he's asleep, but maybe he's just bluffing like he does to his friends; we see Bob censer his thoughts multiple times, so maybe this extends even to censoring his feelings from himself. I believe that understanding more about the symbolism of these dreams will help us characterize Bob; how the prejudice he feels every day affects even his deepest subconscious could help us to know how Bob was formed by prejudice, or how he was formed against it, as well as the deeper conscious of black men in the 40's.

Does the 1st amendment apply to every American?

It is apparent that there was an imbalance of free speech in America.  In the 1940's, only white people had the opportunity to exercise their first amendment rights, while people of color were coerced into keeping quiet when they wanted to speak.  In this white-dominated culture, questioning those who held power translated to making the already tough situation tougher.  There are countless examples of this injustice in just the first 6 chapters of Chester Himes' If He Hollers Let Him Go.  On numerous occasions, Bob finds himself boiling over with rage after suffering verbal or physical abuse by white guards, shipyard workers, supervisors, drivers, or day-to-day people, yet he is forced to control himself out of a fear of what "trouble" he could face.  He confronts this infringement on his free speech constantly, as he experiences his "usual once-a-day urge to tell them to take their leaderman job and shove it," (pg. 26) or when he stops himself from "bust[ing] him [Kelly] right on the side of his scrawny red neck." (pg. 22) The one time he does combat the abuse of one southern white women's disparaging remarks (pg. 27), he loses his promotion and faces being drafted to fight in the war while she gets off scot-free.  Similarly, when the narrator in Ellison's "Battle Royal" mentions "social equality", the white townsmen rebuke his words, mentioning to him that he has "got to know your place at all times."

Fast forward 75+ years, there is still a blatant racially-motivated injustice over free speech in America.  Movements like Black Lives Matter are publicly berated for demanding equality and figures like Colin Kaepernick are castigated and threatened for silently protesting.  How can we, a country that lives by the self-appointed label "the land of the free", think that we are a country for everyone?  How can the amendments unite and represent all Americans when not everyone is given the opportunity to exercise all their supposed constitutional rights?  Is there such thing as contemporary free speech in the United States?  If not, will there ever be?

On page 259 Sammy is talking about how he thinks he has reached a point where he has power and is beginning to seem somewhat satisfied with his career and position of power.  On 259 Sammy says that because of his possessions he feels "patriotic."  Sammy relates his power, control and ownership of material things to patriotism because he is proud of the country that has allowed him to take advantage of people and be successful at the expense of others.  The actual dictionary definition of patriotism is "devoted love, support, and defense of one's country; national loyalty" which is different than the way Sammy thinks and feels about patriotism.  What is patriotic about the way Sammy thinks about patriotism and how does this relate to the way he uses and treats other characters (mostly women) in the book?  We see Sammy constantly using other people as stepping stones and landmarks towards his ultimate success.  Is this in any way related to stereotypical American dream?  Relating back to last weeks discussion, do we perceive Sammy in a different moral light than before?

Power to the Woman

       Today in class we discussed the role of women in What Makes Sammy Run?. What does the passage that Colleen pointed out the passage on page 270-271, "He had wanted the devotion of Rosalie Goldbaum, he had wanted the companionship of Kit, he had wanted the domesticity of Ruth Mintz and the glamour of Rita Royce, and he had thought he was getting the drop on all of them (and something more, something indispensable) in Laurette Harrington," say about Sammy's relationships with these women?   Does Sammy's wanting of the women depict them as objects that he can strive to obtain in order to satisfy his own desires?  Or does the fact that he wants them show that the women have something that Sammy doesn't thereby giving them more power?  What are the relationships between these characters?
       Why though does Sammy consider Laurette a completely different type of woman?  It seems like the reason he is intoxicated by the idea of her is because she is always out of his reach, doesn't put up with his bullshit, and gives him access to the power of her father and her status.  Doesn't Kit also humble him when she stands up to him: "And now that I have will you get the hell out of my office and let me work?"?  Kit's aloofness though, doesn't make Sammy fall in love with her the same was Laurette's does.  Rita Royce also gives him status, but he doesn't fall in love with her either. Why?
        What about the other less central women in the book?  When Julian tells Al how Sammy stole his story Girl Steals Boy he is extremely distraught.  His suffering though doesn't seem to be about the money or the fame or the fact that Sammy stole his story, but about the fact that it was affecting his relationship with his wife, Blanche.  He didn't confront the situation or confide in Al until Blanche threatened to leave him.  What does that say about Blanche's power as a woman?  What about Billie or Sammy's mom?
       How are the different ways women are portrayed in the novel similar or different?  What is the relationship between the women and/or the relationship between women and men?