Pennington.S

7/24/2019 Pennington.S

1/21

From

Brother LeRoi J onesThroughThe

Syst em

of Dante s

Hel l

Tomamu

Amer Baraka

Paul et t e Penni ngt on- J ones

J ournal

of Bl ackSt udi es, Vo um

4, I ssue

Dec 1973 , 195-214

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Aug

:23:44 2001


2/21

FROMBROTHERLeROI

J ONES

THROUGH

THESYSTEMOFDANTE SHELL

TOI MAMUAMEER

BARAKA

PAULETTEPENN

INGTONJONES

P i t t s bur g h

Boardof Educat i on

P i t t s bur gh Pennsyl vani a

To remnd

Me

That t hemanwho

Escapes/ Prost i t ut es

Hi s emot i veness

I s

onl y a

her e t i c

Condemnedby LeRoi

To t he col dest - whi t e

s ec t i on

What

i s

h e l l ?

Where t he

i nf erno?

Why

t he

sys t em?

To

a

Bl ack

man of t he t went i et h

cent ur y

di sposed i n t he

Uni t ed

States

of

Amer i ca,

t he

choi ces

of

def i ni t i on appear t o

be

l i mi t l es s

Brot her

LeRoi

J ones 1963

153)

i n

t he

ear l y

1960s

by wri t i ng and publ i shi ng

The

Systemof ante s Hel l

def i ned and charact er i zed t he Bl ack man s

pr edi cament as

Hel l

i n

t he head

.

AUTHORSNOTE At t he t i me t h i s paper

was

wr i t t en t he

aut hor

was

connect ed wi t h t he Af r i can- Amer i can

Cul t ural

Cent er and t he Depar t -

ment of

Engl i sh

of t he Uni versi t y of I l l i n o i s

J ournal of

Bl ack

Studi es Vol 4No 2, December 1973

97SagePubl i cati ons I nc

[ 95


3/21

[ 1961

JOURN L

OF

L CK

STUDES/ DECEM ER1973

The System

of

Dante s

Hel l ,

LeRoi

J ones

f i r s t

and

thus

f ar onl y, ext ended work of f i c t i o n deal s wi t h t he

ment al

pl i ght

of t he Af r o- Amer i can i n gener al a s t h i s i dent i cal

i dent i t y- di l emma

over l aps

andmeshes wi t h hi s

msi nt er pr et ed

per sonal

di l emm Thi s

psychol ogi cal pr edi cament i s

of

cour se, i nci t ed by t he

pecul i ar soci al

s i t uat i on- pi t t he Bl ack

man

has

been

dumped

and duped i nt o- s o

that he

may r ot

l i k e

t he

r e s t

of

t he

Ameri can

peopl es

LeRoi ( J ones, 1963) l uci dl y descr i bes t he

si t uat i on-pi t

as

bei ng, The to r tu re of bei ng t he

unseen

obj ect , and, t he

const ant l y obser ved subj ect

The

f l ame of s o c i a l di chotomy

Spl i t open down

t he

center, whi ch i s t he ear l y

l egacy

of t he

Bl ack manunf ocused on Bl ackness .

Through The

Systemof Dante s Hel l , Leroi

proves

that

a

f ocus

on

Bl ackness

i s

an

acqui r ed

response

i n

t h i s

wor l d

where a l l

out er i nduced st i mul i conver ge t o

f o rce one

t o

f ocus

(even

t o

at t empt

t o

merge i nt o)

upon

unnat ur al , a l i en

whi t e ways andmethodsof bei ng Onl y

through condi t i oni ng

onesel f t o f ocus,

t o

s e e can t he Bl ack man deal

wi t h

t h i s

s o c i a l di chotomy

I n Phi l i st i ni sm and t he Negro W i t e r , LeRoi 1966

53)

st r ai ght f or war dl y s t a t e s h i s probl emof

f ocus

When went i n t o t he Army

saw

how

t he

o p p r e s s o r s

s u f f e r e d by

v i r t u e of t h e i r oppr essi on- by

havi ng

t o

o p p r e s s

by h av i ng t o

make

be l i ev e

t h a t

t he we i r d hope l e s s

f a n t a s y t h a t

they

had about

t he

wor l d was a c t u a l l y t r u e They a c t u a l l y do be l i ev e t ha t and

t h i s

wei ght i s somet hi ng

t h a t

def or ms them and

f i n a l l y

makes

them

e v e n

mor e

h ope l e s s

t h a n

l o s t

Bl ack

men

t

i s

because

of

t h i s

know edge of t he s oc i e t y ar ound me t h a t

I

h a v e

s t a t e d

t h a t

I

wr i t e now

u l l

of

t r epi da t i on because

know

t he

death t h a t

s oc i e t y i nt e nds f or me

The

know edge

of t h i s deat h

i s

f u l l y

expl or ed

and di smssed

i n h i s cat har si s work of f i c t i on that has a mor al purpose f or

t he bl i nd Bl ack men he has l e f t behi nd

wal l owi ng

i n t he pi t

The

Systemof

Dante s

Hel l ,

as

t he

t i t l e

shouts,

i s based

str uct ur al l y upon t he

system

of ni ne c i r c l e s that Dante


4/21

Penni ngtonJ ones /

LeRO

JONES

TO

M MUMEER

R K

[ 197]

Al i ghi er i

l ed hi s readers

t hr ough i n t he

t h i r d

book

of The

Dvi ne

Comdy

ent i t l ed The I nferno The

si nner s i n

Hel l

ar e

arranged

accor di ng

t o

three

capi t al

vi ces

i ncont i nence,

vi ol ence,

and f raud

Each of t he ni ne r egi ons i s desi gnat ed f or

a

par t i cul ar

s i n , and

t he

or der

of t he s i n s i s accor di ng

t o thei r

w ckedness,

t he

l i g h t e s t

near

t he

t op of

t he

pi t

and t he most

hei nous a t

t he

bottom LeRoi chose

t o

base

hi s

novel about

hi s / Bl ackmen s i nf er no

upon

Dant e s structure f or several

r easons

F i r s t , he

f e e l s a di r ect

i dent i f i cat i on

w t h

Dant e,

t he

man

of

t he

M ddl e

Ages

I n

t he

novel , LeRoi

1963

126

says

d i r e c t l y ,

For

Dant e,

me t he

young

w l d

v i r g i n of

t he

uni ver se t o l ook

. The i nnocence of both men i s

s e l f -

acknowl edge

d Dante

i n hi s

j our ney

t hr ough hel l depi ct s

pi t y , s ympat hy, and

empathy

f or

t he l o s t

s o u l s , whi l e

LeRoi s

i nnocence

i s

not

of

acti on,

but

i nnocence/ i gnor ance

of t he method

of

t he

system

whi ch has him

engul f ed

Al t hough there i s i dent i f i cat i on

t hr ough

i nnocence, i t i s

i nnocence

a t var i ance

Both

have concept s of he l l whi ch ar e

s i m l a r ,

but t he

posi t i on,

t he

pl acement of

he l l d i f f e r s

between t he two Dant e s hel l i s t he condi t i on of t he soul

after

death, br ought

t o

that

poi nt

by t he choi ces made dur i ng

l i f e

To

LeRoi ,

hel l

has been i nt er nal i z ed

; he l l

i s t he

condi t i on

w t h i n

hi s soul

Both

i nterpretat i ons of

hel l

ar e

based upon a r el i gi ous

or

s p i r i t u a l

f oundat i on

Dant e

s a i d

p l a i n l y t h a t t he f i r s t

meani ng

was t he l i t e r l one By

t h i s he

meant

t h a t t he cantos t e l l t he s t o r y of t he

s t a t e

of s o u l s

a f t e r dea th ,

a cc or di ng

t o

t he b e l i e f s o f

medi eval

C h r i s t i a n i t y

[ Ver gan i ,

1969

25]

Man

has

i n h e r i t e d

s i n

and

deat h t hr ough

Adams f a l l

but a l s o

hope

of

Sa l va t i on

t hr ough Chr i s t s r edempt i on

God i n

hi s l o ve

c r e a t e d humans

w t h

t he power o f per c ei v i ng

good

and

e v i l and

t he oppor t uni t y o f

choosi ng On

t he

b a s i s

of

t hei r

c ho i c e

depended t h e i r

e t e r n a l b l i s s of

damnat i on Those

who s et

t hei r

w i l l a ga i ns t t he

di vi ne

l aw wer e

s e n t e n c e d t o i n f e r n o and

e v e r l a s t i n g

t or ment

[ Ver ga ni ,

1969

12]


5/21

[ 98] JOURN LOFL CKSTUDES DECEM ER

1973

LeRoi s

spi r t ual i sm

nowhere

r eaches t he

f or mal i sm of

t he

Medi eval

Cat hol i c

Chur ch, but

t he commtment t owar d t he

r el i gi ous f oundat i on r emai ns

as

st eadf ast C r i t i c

Cl ar ence

Maj or 965 55),

i n

speaki ng of LeRoi s e a r l i e r poet r y, s a y s ,

Though he i s not

a Chr i st i an,

he cer t ai nl y seems t o be

s p i r i t u a l . Addi son Gayl e, J r ( 1969) i n hi s penet r at i ng

pr ef ace t o Bl ack Expr essi ons,

ment i ons

t he f a c t that l i t e r a -

t u re

t o

Bl ack

wr i t er s,

i n

keepi ng

w t h

a

t radi t i on t hat

st ems

f r om Medi eval

t i mes,

must above al l e l s e be mor al LeRoi

hi msel f

has

s a i d ,

Myst i ci sm

i s

a f t e r

a l l

t he h a r d c o r e of Negr o c ul t u r e because

t he

s p r t was

al ways

vul ner abl e- mor e v al ua bl e

t h a n

t hi ng s

f o r

t he Negr o

because

he n e v e r had anyt hi ng

Tr yi ng

t o get at

somet hi ng whi ch i s

f i n al l y s pi r i t ual

and has t o do w th

t he

t r ans mi t t i ng of

s p r t

[ i s

t he Bl ack w r i t e r s f i n a l g oa l ] [ J o n e s ,

1966

581

Rel at ed t o i t s l i t e r a l and

al l egor i cal

meani ng i s

t he

stated

mor al

pur pose of t he

Di vi ne

Comedy

t o

poi nt

out

t o t hose

yet

l i v i n g

t he error of

t h e i r ways, and t o

t u rn them

t o t he

pat h of

sal vat i on The mor al pur pose

of

The Systemof

Dant e s

Hel l

i s

exact l y t he

same

t o

vi vi dl y

di spl ay

t he

possi bl e/ pr obabl e

errors of so- cal l ed

l i f e

f or

t he

Bl ackman

chai ned t o Amer i ca, t o vi vi dl y di spl ay t he

t er r or / t or ment

of

such, t her eby t ur ni ng them

back

t o t h e i r

nat ur al / r i ght eous

path

whi ch

i s

t hei r

onl y sal vat i on

To

bot h mor al men

Hel l

r emai ns

t he

ki ngdomof

m ser y

and

ugl i ness, hat e, t or t ur e,

noi se,

anddespai r ,

w t hout pause andw t hout

end

( Ver gani ,

1969

21)

Whereas Dant e f i nds

hi msel f

ast r ay i n a

dark

wood LeRoi

i s encased

w t h i n

hi s

Bl ack body

HadEdward Margol i es,

whi t e

c r i t i c who

aut hor ed Nat i ve

Sons

C r i t i c a l

Study of

Twent i et h Cent ur y Negro Amer i -

can Aut hor s, t aken

t hese

factors in to account ,

he

coul d

not

have

trapped

hi s

c r i t i c a l

a b i l i t i e s

and

di spl ayed pr ej udi ced

i ncl i nat i ons

by s t a t i n g ,

Despi t e

J ones

at t empt

t o structure


6/21

Penni ngton- J ones

/ LeRO

JONES

TO

M MUMEER

R K [

19

9]

hi s

he l l accor di ng

t o

Dant e s

ni ne

c i r c l e s , t he

r el at i onshi p

i s casual ,

and t he

novel i s

expl osi ve and

di r ect i onl ess

as some

of

J ones s

poems ( Margol i es,

1968

198)

Al so,

he

woul d

r ecogni ze

t hat

some

of

t he sel f - hat e and

sel f - dest r uct i on

t hat he bl i ndl y

accused LeRoi of

i s ai mednot

at

t he beaut i f ul

Bl ack

man

and hi s bei ng,

but

r at her

ai med

at

t he whi t ened-

Bl ack man

t he man who has i gnor ed and

therefore

has

no

concept

of

Sel f

These are

t he

mat ur e

and t hought f ul l y

f ormul at ed

steps

of

aman

w t h

di r ect i on f or hi msel f and

hi s

ki nd

LeRoi

( J ones,

1966

60)

def ends

hi s

di r ect i on

t hr ough

sayi ng, My own di r ect i on i s al ways

t oward s p i r i t ,

whi ch

t he

onl y t hi ng

admt

as bei ng r e a l

.

The

I nf er no

opens

a t t he mdpoi nt of Dant e s l i f e , w t h

Dante

unabl e t o r e c a l l

how

he

got t here, andknowng

onl y

t hat

he

has

wandered f rom

t he pat h

he

shoul d have been

f ol l ow ng

The Systemof Dant e s Hel l opens wi t h LeRoi i n

hi s

conf used adol escence, not knowng

exact l y

what

wr ong,

but r ecogni zi ng

t hat

t hi ngs are awry

The

novel

i t s e l f

i s t he r e c a l l i n g / r e t e l l i n g

of

t he ways and

means

whi ch

l ed

him

astray

Dante opens

i n

i gnor ance

;

LeRoi opens i n knowedge

a l b i e t unspeci f i c)

The f i r s t sent ence of The

Syst em

of Dant e s

Hel l

s e t s up

t he under l yi ng,

undeni abl e

pr i mar y

di st i nct i on

between t he

whi t e

and

Bl ack

wor l d LeRoi i n hi s adol escence not nai ve ;

he knows,

But Dant e s he l l i s heaven ( J ones, 1963 1)

Thi s

novel ,

whi ch

i s an

ext ensi on of

an of f - Br oadway

pr oduct i on

ent i t l ed

Dante

t hat

di ed

a f t e r si xt een

perform

ances i n

1961,

opens

wi t h Neut r al s, t he uncomm t t ed, who

a r e

l ocat ed

i n t he Vest i bul e ( Costel l o, 1968

436

LeRoi

gi ves

short

descr i pt i ons

of

t he

peopl e

who

i nhabi t

Newark

on

West

Mar ket

S t r e e t ,

haunt

of

hi s

youth

These

uncommtted

are t hose,

t hr ough

t he

eyes

of LeRoi , who nei t her t o t a l l y

submtted

t o

t he whi t eni zi ng, nor l i v e d

up

t o

t he

commt-

ment

of

t h e i r Bl ack

posi t i on These

are

t he menandwomen

devoi d of

r ecogni t i on

of

any

s oc i a l

obl i gat i ons

or responsi -

b i l i t i e s

They di d not hi ng

t o hur t

Bl ack

peopl e

and, by t he

same

t oken, di d

not hi ng

t o

hel p

Bl ack

peopl e


7/21

[ 20

0] JOURN LOF

L CKSTUDES DECEM ER

1973

The neut r al s run j ewel r y shopsh i t i n s i l ence under magazi nes

They pai nt eded

i nt erm nabl e

l i v e s tone on

st one

Al l dead Al l wal ki ng sl ow y towards t hei r l i v e s

s tal ki ng

t hei r own

w nt er s [ J ones,

1963 9- 121

Al though hel l i s

reserved

for those who del i ber at el y, i nt el -

l ec t ual l y, and

consci ousl y chose an evi l

way of l i f e the

negati ve

vi brati ons of

the

vesti bul e are unmstakabl e

The

refusal

to

choose,

to

commt

onesel f

i s

i t s e l f

a

choi ce,

i n

an

exi s t ent i al way

of thi nki ng To LeRoi the obscuri ty of

the

noncommtment of the

neutral s

i s

bl atantl y

repul si ve i n i t s

blandness ;

i t s

resplendent

sel f i shness causes hm

to

run and

j ump

To

LeRoi ,

any

acti on i s better

than

no

acti on and I

sl i pped

out

through

the

wndowto

the

roof Then

shi nni ed

down to

the

ground I

hi d out

a l l night w th some

i t al i ans

( J ones, 1963

12)

The

next

ci r c l e,

s t i l l

fol l owng

the

el aborate pl an

set up by

Dante, i s

i nhabi ted

by the heathens

Dante defi nes the

heathens

as

the

vi rtuous

unbapti zed,

but

a

cl oser def i ni t i on

for LeRoi s

heathen

i s

the di cti onary

def i ni t i on

(Webster s

Seventh

New Col l egi at e , an

unconverted

member of

a

people

or nati on that does

not

acknowl edge

the

God

LeRoi s

l i mbo

i s hi s

rel axati on

i n

hi s

own

ar t i s t i c - sel f - cen-

teredness

Heal ready has

the i nkl i ng

that

manmust go

thru

the

s el f to reach

the

cosmc oneness-that hemust j ourney

through i ndi vi dual i ty assessed to communi ty,

but

hewal l ows

i n hi s knowl edge j us t as the uncommtted wal l owed i n thei r

i mposed i gnorance

I f e e l

s i c k and

l o s t

and

have not hi ng

t o pl ace

my

hands

on

pi ano

w t h two wrong not es

Broken chi nese

chimes

An

unf ai t hf ul w f e

Ever yt hi ng

I despi se

some harsh

t est i moni al

of

my l i f e

The

Buddhi sm

t o

affront

me Ugl y Karma

No-

t hi ng

to

i nt er est me

but mysel f

Di sappear ed, even

t he

thi n moan

of

i deas

t hat once sl i pped

throughthe

panofmy

head

I

am

mysel f

I nser t t he word di sgust

er b

Get

r i d of t he

am

Break

out

K i l l

i t

Rp

t he

t hi ng

t o

shr eds

Thi s

t hi ng,

i f

youread

i t wi l l

j amyour face

i n mys h i t

Nowsay somethi ng

i nt el l i gent

[ J ones,

1963 14- 15]


8/21

Penni ngt on- J ones /

LeRO

J ONESTOIM MUMEER R K [ 2011

Here

LeRoi di spl ays

hi s di sgust wi t h hi s

i n e s s but bei ng

unconver t ed to

anot her phi l osophy

bel l i gerent l y taunts

others

who

have or

can

come

out

of

t hemsel ves

t owar d

him

Hi s a b i l i t y f or di rect address

does

donat e some hope ; i f

he

can recogni ze t he

presence of others, he can

recogni ze t hat

he

i s not al one

The wr i t er - i sms of t he paragraph demonst r at e

cl earl y that

he

i s

caught

up i n t he art i st t r i c k

of

egocent r i c

behavi or

and

thought

But t h i s he

s e e s a l s o The

wndows s i t

l ow

above

t he r i v e r [Lethe] and anyone

s i t t i n g

at a

t abl e

wri t i ng

i s

v i s i b l e

even

across to

t he other

s i d e

The

shores

are

t he same

( J ones,

1963 17) nd

he

moves

posi t i vel y to

compare hi msel f wi t h

J ob,

t he hero of t he Od Test ament ,

who endures a f f l i c t i o n s

wi t h

f ort i tude and f a i t h Al l

I

want

i s t o

move To

be abl e t o

f l e x

f l a t muscl es 1963 20)

Movi ng out of t he f i r s t c i r c l e of heat hens,

LeRoi

j ourneys

t o

Heathen

No

2 where t he

emphasi s

i s

no l onger

upon

s i n g l e

sel f - centeredness,

but

upon

s e l f i s h

dual

l i a i s o n s

Here

LeRoi i nt roduces

hi s

adol escent desi re- obj ect s- Berni ce

( unm stakabl y si m l ar i n

sound

t o Dante s Beatr i ce,

yet

i roni cal l y

i mpur e

i n compar i son) ,

S t e r i l e

Di ana, George, and

Frank

Hi s het erosexual and homosexual

encount er s are al l

unnatural t o h i s consci ousness,

thus

i mpl yi ng that nature, t he

natural

i s

an appr oxi mat e

f or God The heat hen i s onewho

deni es or def i es

t he

natural

and i s

j us t l y puni shed

You ve done e ve r y t h i n g you de s pi s e d

Fl owers l l of f t r e e s

wi nd

under

l ow branches

shoves them i n t o

qui c k

c h i l l of t he r i v e r t he

h i g h

l e av es di s a p pe ar

ov e r s t o n e f e nc es

My f l e s h i s s t o n e

but

scream and

he c r i nge s w th

g r u n t s

Di ane

di s i nt egr a t e d i n t o bl ac k n ot e s

beneath

my

i n el e gan t

hands

She

di e d

She

di e d

She

di e d

[ J o n e s

1963

211

Beyond t he i nel egant , unnatural a c t s

he at t empt s t o

s t i f l e

or

murder hi s f e e l i n g hi s

emoti on

Or even

backi ng away

f rom

t he

zone The

area

of

f eel i ng

Whereanyone can enter

( 1963)

I n hi s youth,

when

normal l y

t he

spont aneous,

t he

exci t abl e runs r ampant , he

readi es to

k i l l through r e t r e a t t he


9/21

20

2]

JOURN L

OF L CK

STUDES /

DECEM ER1973

nat ur al , t he God- l i ke qual i t i es of hi s manhood And t h i s

i s

onl y

l i mbo

Through t hese

openi ng

t hr ee sect i ons of The Systemof

Dant e s H e l l , LeRoi i nt r oduces t he r eader t o t he obscur e and

f r agment ed

l anguage

whi ch domnat es t he

maj or i t y

of t he

sect i ons of t he novel

Thi s

form i s used aest het i cal l y t o

enhance t he meani ng

of

t he

cont ent

The conceal ed l anguage

i s

used

as

anot her

bar r i er

t o

s e l f

I t

i s

used

as

a

pr ot ect i ve

shi el d whi ch bl ocks andmakes

i t

easi er t o bear t he per sonal

r evel at i ons,

whi l e

i t succeeds

i n bl ocki ng or hi nder i ng t he

easy under st andi ng of hi mel f by/ t hr ough others-thus, by

s e l f Par adoxi cal l y, t h i s i mpl i ci t

l anguage

has

a f avor abl e

psychol ogi cal

effect upon t he r eader I t del i ver s t he

oppor -

t uni t y f or t he r eader t o become deepl y

i nvol ved

t hr ough

i nt er pr et at i on- t he

meani ng,

t he

cont ent

i s

a

shar ed

r esul t

of

wr i t er

and r eader

Thi s bei ng

t he

ul t i mat e

ai mof LeRoi s

mes s age- t o merge t he s e l f

w t h

t he

out er s el v es , t her eby

f o rmng

t he nat i on/ sel f

LeRoi

knows

Bpower =equal s/ but

super cedes

i ndi vi dual i zed

cont r ol / concept

of

s e l f ( J ones,

1968

121) ,

but t hat I t

i s

easi er t o get peopl e i n t o

a

consci ousness

of

bl ack

power , what i t i s by emot i onal

exampl e

t han

t hr ough

d i a l e c t i c a l

l ect ur e ( J ones,

1968

125) Pr oceedi ng i nt el l i gent l y i n hi s commtment he ci r cum

vent s

t he ar bi t r ar y and i mpr eci se nature of

l anguage

( Bi gsby, 1967 138) f or

t he

more s o l i d emot i onal base whi ch

i s nat ur al l y shar ed by Bl ack peopl e

Ronal d M l ner 1967 11)

under s t ands and

expr esses t h i s

val i d concept i n Bl ack Magi c

Bl ack Art by sayi ng

Af f i r ma t i ons

and

i n s p i r a t i o n , t h a t i s what t he Bl a ck a r t i s t

must

mean t o

t he Bl ack man Speaki ng of t he

q u a l i t i e s of

hi mel f

and

hi s l i v i n g p l a c e as t r u t h f u l l y and ar t i s t i c al l y as he can w t h no

one s

s t a n d a r d s or accept ance

i n

mnd but hi s own, t he a r t i s t

s t r i k e s empat hy and i d e n t i f i c a t i o n

;

t h e r e i s

t he r e a f f i r mat i on

of

acknow edgement , t h e n t he as s er t i on of what has been acknow -

edged,

and

t he

changi ng

t he t oppl i ng- t he f i r s t

i nner , w t h

t he

body

p er s on al ,

t h e n

out war d

t hr ough

t he bodi e s

soci al , pol i t i cal ,

et c . - i s on i t s way


10/21

Penni ngtonJ ones

/

LeRO

JONES

TO

M MUMEER

R K [203]

LeRoi r ei t er at es t he t hought i n emot i onal

expr es s i oni s m

When

d i e , t he cons ci ous nes s

c a r r y

wi l l t o

Bl ack

peopl e

May

t hey

pi ck

me

apart

and

take t he

usef ul

p a r t s ,

t he

sweetmeat

of

my

f e e l i n g s

And

l eave t he

b i t t e r , bul l s hi t

r o t t e n

whi t e

parts al one Schneck,

968

16)

Cont i nui ng

hi s

j our ney

downward/ i nward

LeRoi r eaches

t he c i r c l e s

of

i ncont i nence

t he

s i n s

of

t he

appet i t e, t he

s i n s

of sel f - i ndul gence, t he s i n s of passi on a r e di spl ayed

I ncont i -

nence

a l s o

cont ai ns

di spl ayed weaknes s

of

w i l l and i r r esol ut e

act i on

i n

t he

f a c t

of

t empt at i on

The f i r s t

c i r c l e

of

t he

i ncont i nent

i s

ent i t l ed

Lasci vi ous-

ness

.

The s et t i ng i s a

downtown

mdtown

Manhat t an)

p a r t y

scene where LeRoi i s know ngl y par t i ci pat i ng i n t he canni bal -

i s t i c

r i t u a l

where

he

t he meal

Lasci vi ous

t o

meat They

take

t

i nt o t hei r mouths

Meat Bl ood on

t he

paper

Anger i s not hi ng Tome f e a r muchmore And t he

l us t i n t he

wor l d

f ashi oned i nt o snow

J ones, 1963

24- 25)

The meat / meal that LeRoi s peaks of t he they-whi tes-

devour i ng

s houl d be

i nt er pr et ed

both ways L i t e r a l l y ,

these

i nt emper at e peopl e ar e

not

pur e e a t e r s , a r e

not

veget ar i ans,

but

i ndul ge

i n

t he k i l l i n g and consumngof

t hei r

ownani mal

ki nd On t he

second

l e v e l ,

t hos e

physi cal l y

m s di r ect ed ar e

deal i ng

i n

f e l l a t i o

The

oxymoroni c

cl osi ng

quot e

s ent ence

f i e r y

l u s t i s

t o

f roz en snow) met aphor i cal l y

f or es hadows

t he

phi l osophi cal

cent er of

h e l l , whi ch

i s

t he f r ozen

i c e

bl ock

t hat negat es

al l human

warmh

emot i on,

shar i ng,

and

commnal i smAs they

ar e

l ewd i n

t hei r

s el f - s a t i s f y i ng de s i r e ,

he

i s equal l y wanton i n

hi s

cooper at i on

Al t hough t he next c i r c l e

c al led Gl ut t ony, LeRoi deal s

w t h

t he i nt i mat e

ur ban

area

as

gl ut t on,

because

he

had

t hor oughl y r eveal ed t he

gl ut t ony of

t he nonpeopl e and t he

possi bl e r eal - peopl e who

cast i gat e

t hem el ves

by pl ayi ng

cohor t

NewYork

Ci t y

i s succi nct l y shown

as

onewho has

gr eat capaci t y f or absor bi ng

andwast i ng t hose

caught

w t hi n

i t s

j aws

LeRoi s i mpl y

s a y s ,

Ci t y i s gl ut t ony

J ones,

1963

27)


11/21

[ 2041 JOURN LOF L CKSTUDES

DECEM ER

1973

The

pr odi gal

LeRoi

i n

t he

successi ve

c i r c l e

i s

r eckl ess l y

ext r avagant and

l a v i s h onl y

i n

hi s

hope f or i mmedi ate

sal vat i on He r ecogni zes

that

hi s

gai n

wi l l be escape fromhi s

s i p

of

h e l l ,

and

he

i s

gr eedy

f or

t h i s gai n I n t hi nk i ng

Each

excess past ( 1963 30) , he deal s i n

retrospect w t h

t he

beaut i f ul sensual i sm he

has

known

i ntel l i gent l y

deduci ng

that sensual i sm

i s

a pr obabl e posi t i ve

t r a i t

f or

Bl ack

peopl e

But

hi s

t r u t h

r emai ns

The pr o di g al

l i v e s

i n

d a r k n e s s

have

l o s t

t h o s e

c l ear days

An

i mpo s s i b l e d i s t anc e of shadows Wool c l o ak of y e a r s

Not

t i me ,

not ever

t i me

Not t o

my s e l f , young

f a t - l i p p e d

c o r p s e

T e l l

your

l i s

some o t h e r t i me Your p a r e n t s

s t i l l v i s i t

t he c h i l d [ 1963

31- 3 2]

By

t hi s c i r c l e

he

i s

al r eady

too

f a r

gone-he

i s

caught

;

t he

onl y way

up i s down t he

onl y way out

i s through

Wth

t he

subj ect

of

wr at h,

LeRoi

t oo br i e f l y

deal s

w t h

respect

t o

others

di spl ayed f or

hi s verbal

i r e ,

and

hi s

enj oyment of t h i s di spl ay

Hi s

c r ypt i c

appr oach

t o

t h i s

c i r c l e

may

be due t o di s si pat i on

as

a r esul t of hi s over - l uc i d f o r ego

t o

bear )

del i ver y i n t he f i r s t c i r c l e of t he i ncont i nent O hi s

per sonal

exper i ences never l ean i n an over t l y wr at hf ul

di rect i on What ever t he

reason,

he shor t changes

hi s l esson on

t he wr at hf ul

Wth i n t he

sect i on

of t he

i ncont i nent ,

there ar e

several

d i s p a r i t i e s between Dante and LeRoi

I n Dant e s system t he

c i t y of

Di s i s

reached onl y a f t e r

passi ng through t he c i r c l e

of

t he

wr at hf ul

I n

LeRoi ,

t he

ci ty-New York

Ci t y,

t he

prototype

of al l

Ameri can

c i t i e s - i s

al one used t o

depi ct

gl ut t ony I n

Dant e s phi l osophi cal

pattern,

t he s i n s

of

i ncont i nence ar e s i n s done

i n

i sol at i on,

except i ng

t he

s i n s

of

t he

wr at hf ul

whi ch by t hei r

exposed

hatred can poss i bl y

br i ng

harm t o someone ( Ver gani , 9 9 49) LeRoi recog-

ni zes no i s ol at i onal l s i n s ar e commtted i n col l abor at i on

( al t hough

not

necessar i l y

w t h

mutual

gai n)

For

LeRoi ,

there

i s aphi l osophi cal i naccept ance of i sol at i on


12/21

Penni ngt on- J ones

LeRO JONES

TO

IM MUMEER

R K

[ 2051

The next c i r c l e

i n

Dante s

pr ogr essi on

i s

reserved

f or

t he

her et i cs Leavi ng t he

c i r c l e s

of

t he wi l l - l e s s s i n s ,

t he

r eader

enters

t he

r eal m

of

mal i ce

whi ch

encompasses

t he

s i n s

of

t he

w i l l

Acc or di ng t o

Dante s def i ni t i on, a

her et i c was

onewho

chose

hi s own

opi ni on

rather t han f ol l owi ng

t he j udgment

of

t he Church ( Ver gani ,

1969

56)

Under

LeRoi s syst em t he

her et i cs a r e

not

assi gned to the

bottom

of

t he

si xt h

c i r c l e- t hey

a r e t he l owest of t he l ow LeRoi 1963

i i

expl ai ns,

put

The H e r e t i c s i n

t he

d e e p e s t p a r t

of

h e l l ,

t hough

Dante had

t hem

s p a r e d ,

on

hi g he r

gr ound

t

i s

h e r e s y ,

a ga i ns t o n e s own s o u r c e s , r unni ng i n t e r r o r ,

f rom

o n e s d e e p e s t r e s p o n s e s and i n s i g h t s

t he

de ni a l

of

f e e l i n g

t h a t

s ee

as b a s e s t e v i l

We

ar e not t a l k i n g merel y

about b e l i e f s ,

whi ch ar e

l a t e r a f t e r

t he

f a c t

of

f e e l i n g

A

f l o w e r ,

t u r n i n g

f r om

mo i s t u r e

and

sun

woul d

t u r n

e v i l c o l o r s and

di e

To

be r i ght eous,

LeRoi c a l l s f or

commtment

ont he

Bl ack

man s part-commtment

t o

f e e l i n g , t he ul t i mat e

resource

of

man Ext endi ng

t h i s

theory, t he

Bl ack

manwho happens

t o

be

a

wr i t er

must

deal

i n a

l i t e r a t u r e of commtment a l s o

A

wr i t er

must

have

a

poi nt

of

vi ew,

or he

cannot

be a good

wr i t er

Hemust

be

st andi ng

somewhere i n t he wor l d,

or

e l s e

he

i s

not one of u s ,

and

hi s commentary

i s

of

l i t t l e

val ue,

ampl i f i es t h i s

theory

of

commtment

a s propounded by

Bi gsl ey

1967

5)

LeRoi

says

t h i s

bond,

t h i s

decl ar at i on,

t h i s

war r ant y

between t he

Bl ack

man/ ar t i st

and hi s brother

shoul d l ead us i n our

nat ur al r i ght eous di r ect i on

The

Bl ack

a r t i s t s

path

i s

c l e a r ,

i f

he

i s

not

t o be

a

bet r ayer / her et i c

What s needednow

f or ` t h e

a r t s i s

t o

get themaway f r om

whi t e peopl e, a s

exampl e of t h e i r ` c u l t u r e

( of

t h e i r

l i f e ,

f i n a l l y , and al l i t s u s e s , e . g a r t andback where such

s t r i v i n g s

bel ong, a s strong

thrusts

of aheal t hy peopl e

( J ones,

1967a

5)

LeRoi cont i nues,


13/21

[ 2061 JOURNALOF

BLACK

STUDES

DECEMBER1973

H gh

a r t f i r s t

of

a l l

must

r ef l ect

t he exper i ences

of

t he

human

bei ng t he

emoti onal predi cament of

t he man as

he

exi st s

i n

t he

def i ned worl d of hi s

bei ng

I t

must

be produced

from

t he

l egi t i mat e emoti onal

resources

of

t he soul

i n

t he

worl d

I t can

never be

produced

by evadi ng t hese r esour ces or pr et endi ng t hat

t hey do not

exi st

I t can

never

be produced by appr opr i at i ng

t he

w t her ed emoti onal r esponses of

some

s t r i c t l y s o c i a l i dea of

human ty

H gh

a r t

and by

th i s

mean any ar t

t hat woul d

attempt

t o descr i be or char act er i ze

some

por t i on

of

t he

profound

meani ngf ul ness

of

human l i f e w th

any

f i na l i t y or

truth

cannot

be based on the

super f i c i al i t i es

of

humanexi st ence I t must i ssue

from

r e a l

cat egor i es

of

human act i vi t y t ruthfu l account s

of

human

l i f e [ J ones

1967b

193]

For

LeRoi s

acceptance andgui dance i n t hi s

betrothal ,

he

i s

accorded

the

posi ti on

of

cul tural

hero to the

B ack

com

muni ty

The

cr i me

of

heresy

i s

the

maj or

i nner

enemy

of

the

B ack

nati on

Wth

c i r c l e

seven

where the

vi ol ent are

i ncarcerated,

LeRoi

l umps the

vi ol ent agai nst others

and the

vi ol ent agai nst

sel f

under

the

chapter

ent i t l ed

The

Destructi on

of

Amr

i ca

. Th s

chapter

i s a

prose poem

wth a desert set t i ng that

depi cts B ack

trapped

wth

wh tes

dyi ng on a hi gh

col d

mountai n S t i l l

i n

t h i s

ci r c l e under

the

vi ol ent agai nst God,

nature,

and

ar t are

the

panderers

andseducers, the

f l at t er er s

the simon sts,

the

di vi ners

The

seducti on of LeRoi i s throughan act of fantasywhi ch

he has created of hi s past hi s ol d

l ove

(whi ch

i s

nowdead),

hi s

hom The

sel f seducti on

creates an

approach/avoi dance

response

whi ch

i s

si ml ar to

the

rel ati onshi p

of

the

pander

and the seducer

Go

away

ry to comback

Try

to return

here

Or wherever i s so f tes t

most beauti ful

Go away,

panderer Li ar

But

com

back,

to

i t

(Jones,

1963 37)

The c i r c l e

of f l at t er y f i nds LeRoi enj oyi ng

the

di f feren

t i at i on

the

di st i ncti on that attendi ngcol l ege

and

obtai ni ng

a

f ormal

educati on

bestows upon

the

B ack youth

i n

hi s

or i gi nal

ghetto

hom

LeRoi

l ooks

back

upon

chi l dhood

games and teenage l oves and sees

that

he i s al ready separated


14/21

Penn

i ngton J ones /

LeRO

JONES

TO

M MU

MEERB R K

[2 7]

from

hi s

peopl e, and

t o hi m

i n

hi s

condi t i on, t h i s i s good

The di scr i mnat i on i mposed

upon

hi m

by whi t e

val ue/

standards

i s

f l at ter i ng

a t

t h i s

poi nt

i n he l l

Thedef i ni t i on

whi ch

Webst er gi ves

t he noun s i moni st

i s

one who buys and/ or s e l l s a

church

o f f i c e

but LeRoi

t r ansl at es t h i s

t o

t he per sonal , i ndi vi dual

def i ni t i on

of

one

who through

t he buyi ng

and

s e l l i n g of

t he body h i s

church

of f i ce) commer ci al i zes sacred j ur i sdi ct i on

To demons t r at e

t h i s

he

opaquel y descr i bes t he pa r t i a l

act of

i nt er cour se

whi ch

turns

out

t o

be an unnat ur al

dual - debaser

The di vi ner s

of

bot h Dante and LeRoi

f i nd t hei r heads

tw s ted backwar ds

( J ones,

1963

49) f or at t empt i ng t o

f o r e t e l l t he f u tu re LeRoi i mpl i es

that

t he

pr ej udgment

made

upon

hi s

com ades by each other, and those pr edi ci t i ons

upon

others

made by

hi msel f ,

whomhe consi der s

havi ng

l i v e d her et of or e

i n

a c l os et ar e b a s e basel ess, andunj ust

Movi ng i nt o

c i r c l e e i ght

we

begi n t o

deal

w t h

t he

si nner s

cat egor i zed

as

si mpl y f r audul ent Her e gr ouped,

each

accord-

i ng

t o

hi s

own

ki nd,

we

f i n d

t he g r a f t e r s

or barrators,

t he

hypocr i t es, t he t hi e ve s t he f r audul ent counsel l or s, t he

makers

of di scor d,

and t he personators ( al chemst s)

or

f a l s i f i e r s

The

g r a f t e r s

ar e

st andar dl y

def i ned

as

those

who

prof i t

f r om t h e i r pos i t i on i n publ i c o f f i ce Her e t he

musi ci an stage

of

LeRoi s

l i f e i s

equat ed

w t h

publ i c o f f i ce Hi s gi gs put

hi m

i n t he publ i c eye, maki ng hi mdes i rabl e to those

p i t i f u l

ones

who respected and l ear ned

f or

a

part of hi s

ego- hei ght ened

f ame and not or i et y

I n

t h i s

sel ecti on,

there

a

f us i on of

t he

a r t / i n t e l l e c t u a l

scene

w t h t he

homosexual

scene,

and

LeRoi

r eaps

dual

dubi ous

prof i t s

Yet

t

i n t hi s

secti on

that

he

has

come

t o

gr i ps

w t h,

acknowl edges hi s emot i ons

enough

f or

hi m t o honest l y f ace hi msel f i n di r ect accusat i on

YOU

LOVETHESEDEMONS

ND

WLL

NOTLE VE

THEM

I

am

mysel f

a f t e r

al l

Thedead ar e

what move

me The var i ous

dead 1963 59)

The

openi ng

scene

on t he

hypocr i t es

depi ct s

a church


15/21

[ 2081 JOURNALOFBLACKSTUDES DECEMBER1973

scene- not

t he usual

Bl ack

Bapt i st

emot i on- r el easi ng meet i ng,

but

a

mddl e- cl ass r espectabl e wor shi p of f aki ng Methodi st s

Thi s i s t he per f ect

showcase

to expose categor i cal l y

those

who af f ect vi r tues and q u a l i t i e s they do not possess LeRoi

pl ural l y per sonal i zes i t t h i s way, W di d a l o t of

thi ngs,

t hose year s

Now we do a l o t of thi ngs

W

dr i nk

wat er from

st r eams

W

wal k down hopi ng t o f uck Mul att os when they

bathe

W

t el l l i es

to

keep f rom

get t i ng bel ted,

and

watch

a

f aggot t aki ng a beat i ng

i n t he

snowf rom

our l i e

Our fear

1963:

65)

The

chapt er c l os es w th a

pl ayl et- t he

members

of LeRoi s

ol d

gang

come

t oget her

gi vi ng speeches of thei r

past

expl oi ts and

pr esent t heor i es- br aggi ng

di ssembl er s i n

chor us Thei r

gr oup

effort

i s abbr evi atedl y si gned, Yrs t

Cai aphas

No

more

apt

per son coul d

LeRoi

have

extracted

from

t he

Bi bl e,

v i a

Dante, t han

t he hi gh

p r i e s t

who

tol d

t he

Counci l that i t was better f or J esus to di e than f or t he whol e

nati on to per i sh Both LeRoi and Dante deal w th

t he

hypocr i t es r oughl y because few s i n s

can

equal

t he del i ber ate

cl oaki ng of one s true character and f e e l i n g s i n a f a l s e aspect

of

pi ety,

tol er ance, and honest y Thi s s i n i s cl osel y

aki n

to

LeRoi s deep- pl aced heret i cs, because w th

Bl acks di spl ayi ng

both

t r a i t s

or tones, thei r

nati on

can

never

become

The chapt er

ent i t l ed Thi eves opens w th quote

from

Gaugui n i n

NoaNoa

Ws t o

have

made t h i s f ar j our ney,

onl y

t o f i nd t he very

t hi ng

whi ch

I

had f l ed? LeRoi t he

thi ef r ecogni zes that he has stol en fromhi msel f

;

thi eves

s t e a l

i n

Hi s

vi ol ence toward s e l f has been adr yi ng process,

and

hi s

i nner space

has become cement where i t was once f e r t i l e

Bl ack s o i l LeRoi r ecogni zes that he

has

decl ared

war upon

hi msel f and won, j u s t as he and h i s f i ght i ng youth gangs

commted

war

thi ever y upon

thei r nei ghbor hood And

w th

t h i s thi ever y,

t h i s dr yi ng,

cr eeps nonunder st andi ng

of

s e l f by

s e l f and

thus

by

other / sel ves

My symbol s

hung unbl i nked

at

The

sur f ace appr eci ated,

and 1

somet i mes, frustrated

because

t he

whol e

i dea

di dn t get

i n

onl y

t he

pr of ani t y

( 1963 78)


16/21

Penni ngtonJ ones

/ LeRO

J ONESTO

IM MU

MEERB R K 1209]

Chapt er / c i r c l e e i gh t ,

t he home

of

t he f r audul ent

or e v i l

counsel l or s, i s one of t he

more

i n t r i c a t e and i nt er est i ng

dr amat i c

di t ches

Thi s

sect i on

appear s

t o

be

di rect l y

on

t he

of f - Br oadway pl ay of

LeRoi ' s ent i t l ed Dante

The Narrator

s e t s t he scene

f or

i nner

conf l i ct

by l ocat i ng t he r eader w t h i n

t he i nner

tent

The

f i r s t hal f

of

t he schi zoi d per sonal i t y i s 46,

r eveal s hi msel f t o

be

t he

young,

i d e a l i s t i c ,

i n t e l l e c t u a l ,

phys i cal l y acqui escent

type

He has t hor oughl y i nt er nal i zed

si ck-whi t e a r t i s t i c

val ues

Thi s char act er ' s

s ymbol / s t ance i s

l yi ng

on

hi s

stomach

r eadi ng

The

second

character,

t he

a n t i - s e l f

who openl y c a l l s hi msel f t he

f o i l ,

announces

that he

shoul d

be

cal l ed Herman but he

i s s l i c k l y and symbol i cal l y

c a l l e d 64 46 does not r ecogni ze

hi s

count er - sel f , but i s

f asci nat ed by

him

and on t he

l i t e r a l

l e v el engages i n what

appear s t o be a

homosexual

i n i t i a t i o n

Know edgabl e 64

who

cl ai ms t o have been

t hr ough

i t

l l

dangl es t h i s

know edge and

i nf or mat i on

bef or e 46

a s

bai t - 46

snaps

Says

64,

I

have,

a t

l e a s t , al l t he

bl ack a r t s

The

smel l

of

deepest

l onel i ness

know

t hi ngs

that

wi l l s p l i t your f a c e

end youw l d- eyed

t o

your ownmeek thoughts I ma

bel l y rub

man But that ' s

my c i r c l e ,

now

I ams t a t i c ef l ect

i t

meani ngf ul l y

But

you, myman,

ar e

s t i l l i n

aw l der ness

I gnor ant

weak You

can

be

t aken

1963

:

83- 84)

And

because 64 a s s e r t s t h i s

pos i t i on

as

ment or ,

then

f a i l s

t o

counsel / convi nce 46

that

hi s

mddl e- c l ass

hang- up/ val ues

ar e

wor t hl ess

but f a l s e l y l eads 46

i n h i s t hought s of aspi r at i on

al ong

t he

bl eached- m nd

way,

64

i s ul t i mat el y a

fraud

64

has been there and

del i ber at el y

deni es hi s r o l e

a s t eacher

Hi s

beaut i f ul Bl ack musi cal r i f f i n ,

I ' m

p u r e i mp r e s s i o n

Yeh

Got

poetry

b l ue s

l l

t h r u

my

s h o e s

g o t

Yeah,

t he

p o - E - t r y

b l u e s

And

t h e n t h e r e s

l i t t l e t hi ngs l i k e

` T h e moder n J a z z Bl u e s

Bi g o t Bl u e s

Y o ur s e l f , myman

your

s t o n e s e l f

T a l k i n bout

bl ue s

Whi t e buck b l ue s s h o r t s h o r t bl ues ,

go t h r u

me l i k e

wi n d,

mean, p u r e

w nd)

I ' mp u r e

e x p r e s s i o n

Whi t e f r i e n d b l ue s Adul t er y b l ue s ( comeon l i k e you

some

dumb

t u r k e y , c o o l as you comeon t o us , l i k e

s t o n e turkey

they

had

you

i n

t h e newwor l d) Got what ?

Yeh, l i k e l o v e ,

baby,

l i k e

l o v e


17/21

[ 2101 JOURNAL

OFBLACK

STUDES/ DECEMBER1973

I had

t he

Kafka bl ues

and

gi ve

i t up So much I

gi ve

up

Chi cago,

Shrevepor t ,

puer t o

ri co,

l ower

east

s i de

comeon

l i k e

newdays

Sun

everywhere i n

your eyes

Bl ues, comeon,

l i k e yr

beaut i f ul s e l f

Thi s does

not and can

never

deny

hi s ml i ci ous k i l l i ng ,

through l ack of nonevi l counsel , of

hi s

other/ sel f

LeRoi ,

l i k e

Dante, deal s wth symbol i c numerol ogy,

especi al l y

i n

the

above

secti on

The

most

promnent symbol

i s the

ml ti pl e

of ten

one

hundred,

whi ch i s the

sumof

the

schi zophreni cparts, standi ngfor perfecti on

46 s

yearni ngfor

merger

wth

pos i t i vel y r ef l ect s

hi s consci ous understand-

i ng of the need for uni ty between the whi te- imposed f al se

di s t i nct i ons

of the mddl e-cl ass

negro

and

underpri vi -

l edged

negro

.

Thei r l i ai son

al so pos i t i vel y r ef l ect s

hi s

unconsci ous understandi ng

that total

uni ty

of al l

Bl ack

peopl es i s

perfecti on

The

successi ve

chapter

deal i ngwth

themakers

of di scord

the

sowers of scandal i s headed The Chri sti ans . LeRoi

conti nues wth

the

theme of

the

spl i t between

the

col l ege

youth

and

hi s ghetto fri endshi ps past He

speaks

of breaki ng

off f romthe body, the masses of Bl ack peopl e I knewI d

gotten

out

Left

a l l

that

The Physi cal

Wrl d (1963 94)

There i s the f l avor of enj oyment of

msochi sti csufferi ng

and

the

pl easure

of bei ng

si ngl ed

out

as speci al for

nonphysi cal ,

nonearthy, but i nt el l ect ual reasons Thi s c i r c l e

i s

the formal

end of even tenuous t i e s between himel f and

hi s brothers

The compari son

maybe

mdebetween the or i gi nal

Chri sti ans

and

the

educati oned-i ntel l ectual s

who

separate

themel ves

f romthe

mjori ty to worshi p

i n

cl i que I n

the

confrontati on

between

these f act i ons , the gang-men, the

Dukes,

wn the

bat t l e because

the col l ege-gentl emen

true to f ormavoi d

the

fray Thenewl earni ng

had

com

i n

(1963

99)

The rotten

pi ousness of

the

personators, the f a l i s f i e r s

pervades the next c i r c l e

LeRoi , the l eadi ng faker al chemst

cl aim

to

be

a

God-feari ng/good/god-man

i n t hi s

God-feari ng

l and He

cl aim

that anarchy,

unnatural di sorder

thek i l l e r

of


18/21

Penni ngt onJ ones

LeRO J ONESTOIM MUMEERB R K [ 2111

God

si mpl y

over t ook hi m wal ked

in to

us

l i k e

morni ng

( 1963

119) , but t he i mper sonat i on i s

t oo

heavy, t oo nat ural

f or

t he nonnat ur al

l i a r

t o

bear

y

t he

cl osi ng

l i n e s

of

t he

chapt er he denounces/ r eveal s hi msel f , and hi s cohorts as a

l ousy

vaudenvi l l e

group

.

Near i ng

t he

bottom

of

t he

pi t

exposes t he s i n s

of

treachery

Al t hough Dante

deal s

wi t h t he t r a i t o r s

t o

ki ndred,

t o country, t o

guests, and

t o mast ers, LeRoi

chooses

t o deal

onl y wi t h

t he worst treachery

t o ki ndered

LeRoi e n t i t l e s

t h i s

short - st ory- l i ke

chapt er

The Rape

.

Havi ng compl et el y

made t he

move i n to

t he whi t e- emerged mddl e- cl ass

of hi s

dreams,

he

t horoughl y

i l l s t he no- val ued

r o l e

Ot her accept-

ance

has not cl osed

hi s eyes t o hi s

posi t i on of m s f i t but

i t

has

cl osed

and

bl ocked

hi s

empathy

act i ons t owar d

ot her

ms f i t s

group of t een

Brooks- br ot her s

seei ng

a drunken

s i s t e r

l o s t

i n t hei r r i t zy

concl ave, t r i c k her

wi t h ki ndness

sayi ng

they

wi l l

d r i v e

her t o

her l o s t

dest i nat i on She accept s

and t he j our ney

of

t he abor t ed

rape

begi ns The group,

i nsti gat ed

and

l ed

on

by LeRoi , t he ki ng- zero- no- hi gher

vi ol at or of

al l egi ance and

f a i t h

t o ki nd, at t empts physi cal

vi ol at i on

unt i l she

convi nces them

t hat

her si ckness, l ower -

c l a s s

s o r e s

i s

cont agi ous

She

gi vi ngl y

t eaches them

t hat l i f e

can

take

you

down

and

LeRoi

hears

She

t ransl at es

t he

f a c t

t o hi mt hat

t he damned

soul

i s t he pri soner

of

t h i s

wor l d

When

t he group moves t o ki ck t he

bi t ch from

t he

movi ng

ve hi c l e LeRoi a c t s on

hi s

al l egi ance- t oo

l a t e Unf or t unat el y,

he i s saved

from

hi s woul d- be

puri f yi ng

act

t hr ough al l egi ance

t o

hi m

by a

group i n

whi ch

he

r emai ns a

ms f i t

The

despoi l i ng i s

reversed

; t he rape i s of

LeRoi

The

cent er

of Dante s

pi t

i s

reserved

f or

t he

arch- t rai t or

Sat an

The cent er of

LeRoi s

pi t

r emai ns

f or t he a r c h - s e l f -

t r a i t o r

t he

heret i c

LeRoi knows now

t hat

i n t he bl onde

summer i n

our

south

l i f e

was al ready

over

.

Themost

e x p l i c i t

prose of t h i s sect i on reveal s most cl earl y

t he most hei nous

s i n

Usi ng

heavy

envi r onment al

i magery,

LeRoi

rei terates hi s

separat i on When asked by

an

a l i e n

i s

he


19/21

[ 212] JOURN LOF L CK

STUDES

DECEM ER

1973

hi s

brother s

keeper,

he

r e p l i e s

`Ni gguhs

i s

Ni gguhs

No, s a i d `No

Fuck, man,

I

hate coons 1963

123)

Yet i n t h i s

smal l

southern Bl ack- bot t om LeRoi

encount er s

t he natural

pr ost i t ut e Peaches who expect s t he

nat ur al

of

him

and o f fe r s

her natural

i n re t u rn

Hi s

i n a b i l i t y

t o compl y caused

by hi s

perverted

act i ons heretofore),

t o

erect

hi msel f

i n manhood

d i s c l o s es

uncover s

him

W t h

t he

strength

of

r i g h t

she

forces

hi m

and

al t hough he

physi cal l y

responds,

he i s i n t e l l e c t u a l l y unr eady/ abl e t o

accept

hi s

nat ur al r o l e Di shonest l y agr eei ng t he pl ay t he husband/ w f e

game, he runs away fromhi s f r u i t Because of Or i gi nal Good

he i s beat en by hi s

bl i nd- t o- hi s

eyes ki nd brothers, who onl y

p a r t i a l l y

denounce

t h i s

l owest

sl i me

as

Mr Hal f - whi t e

muthafucka

1963

151)

And LeRoi ascends

t hr ough hi s

descent

Through

beat en

eyes,

he

s e e s

t he

r epugnance,

t he

murder i n deni al of s e l f

ot her / sel ves, nat i on/ sel f , emot i on,

and

f eel i ng

and f a l l s

t o

hi s

knees beggi ng

an

al l - mer ci f ul

God

f or mercy

Brother LeRoi

J ones,

t he st r uggl i ng, whi t ened

negr o

wr i t er

has compl eted hi s

t r ansf or mat i on

i n t o t he s p i r i t u a l

know -

edgabl e Bl ack

wr i t er/ ar t i st

nownamed ImamuAmeer Bar aka

He

now

knows,

andmost

i mpor t ant l y

has

r eveal ed

t hr ough

hi s

descent i n t o The Systemof Dant e s H e l l that

t o be an Amer i can one mus t be a mur der whi t e mur der er o f

c ol o r ed

peopl e The

c ol o r e d pe op l e neg r o e s who

a r e

ame r i -

can s and t h e r e ar e pl e nt y ar e onl y

col or ed

on t h e i r s k i n They

a r e whi t e mur der s of

c ol o r e d

peopl e Themsel ves wer e t he i r s t

t o

be

mur der ed

by

them

i n

o r d e r

t o qua l i f y [ J ones

1968

119]

The her et i cs pl ai nl y wear

t he

mark of

t he

seer / pr i est Imamu

Ameer Bar aka

He showed/shows us t hr ough

exampl e

J o ne s on t he

ve r y br i nk

of

t he

Amer i can dr eam of f ame and

f o r t u n e

w t hdr ew

f r o m

t he

magi c

c i r c l e

and went

upt own

Al l

t he

way

upt own- t o

Har l em l eavi ng t he

hi gh

ar t

s cene t o

hi s

whi t e

c ol l e ague s

Not onl y di d he w t hdr awhi s p e r s o n but he


20/21

Penn

i ngt onJ ones

LeRO J ONESTO

IM MU

MEER

B R K

[ 213]

took

hi s ar t

al ong

wi t h

him

He

wthdrew Bl ack Magi c, a

compl ete

col l ect i on

of

hi s poetry,

f rom

Grove

Press

t hree- act

f our

hour

pl ay

opti oned

f or

Broadway

was

not

produced

[ Schneck,

1968

141

Hs

progression

l ed

himf rom

whi teness i nto

f or / r eal B ack-

ness

B acks

have

recogni zed

and

prai sed

hi s

progressi on

away

f rom

the word-center

worl d to

a

worl d of i ntense emti on

and

viol ent

acti on

Resnik,

1967

29)

Imamu

meerBaraka

has taken

himel f through

absol ute

honesty,

absol ute r evel at i on, absol ute

pai n

for hi s

peopl e

He

did t h i s to

di scover

himperverted/ sel f , to obl i t er at e

him

el f

andto

mrge wth

hi s sel ves

Theul timte

pure Bl ack

act

He has enacted the regenerative qual i t i es of the

mral

wri ter He

sp i r i t s

The poet , on t h i s vi ew, i s t he

reci ter

of t he r i t u a l whi chkeeps t he

worl d i n bei ng but

because

t he

r i t u a l

these days hasei t her f al l en

i n di suse or i s used f or

l i m t ed

pur poses rel i gi on i roni cal l y,

havi ng

becom

a l i m t ed pur pose, t he poet mst

a l s o

be a

redi scoverer ,

r e - e d i f i e r

who causes t he

puri f i ed

and

i deal i zed

hi st ory

reci t ed

i n

t he

r i t u a l t o be

f reshl y seen as

penet r at i ng and

mdi fying

our

secul ar

or supposed

secul ar

concerns,

which

i s af ter

a l l ,

exactl y

what

was

proposed

and

achi eved

by

Dante [Howard,

1965

4 3]

Imamumeer

Baraka

supers th i s

tradi tionof

Dante

REFERENCES

BI GSBY,

C

W

E 1967

Conf r ont at i on

andCommtmnt Study of Contemo-

rary Amri canDram1959-1966 Kansas Ci ty Uni v of M ssour i Press

COSTELLO, D P 1968 Bl ackmn

as vi ct i m

Commnweal th J une

28

G YLE J r 1969 Bl ack Expr essi on Essays by and

About

Bl ack

Ameri cans

i n t he Creat i ve Arts

New

York : Weybri ght

HOW RD R 1965

Som

poets i n thei r prose . Poetry

Mar ch

JONES, L 1968 The need f or a

cul tural

base t o c i v i l r i t e s and

Bpower

mvemnts, i n F B Barbour

ed .

The Bl ack Power Revol t

Boston Sargent


21/21

[2 4 JOURNAL

OF

BLACKSTUDES/ DECEMBER973

( 1967a) What t he

a r t s need now

Negro Di gest Apr i l )

( 1967b) Themyth

of Negro

l i t e r a t u r e ,

i n

AGayl e,

J r

Bl ack

Expr ess i on

Essays

by

and

About

Bl ack Amer i cans

i n t he Cr e a t i ve Ar t s

New

York

Weybr i ght

( 1966)

P h i l i s t i n i s m

and

t he Negro

wr i t e r , i n

H

H i l l

( ed

Anger and

Beyond

The Negr o Wi te r

i n

t he

Uni t ed

S t a t e s

New

York

Harper

Row

( 1963) The Systemof Dant e' s

He l l

New

York

Gr ove

MAJOR C ( 1965) Thepoetry of LeRoi

J ones

. Negr o Di g es t ( March)

MARGOLI ES E ( 1968) Nat i ve

Sons

A

C r i t i c a l

Study o f Twent i et h Cent ur y

Negro

Amer i can

Aut hor s

Phi l a de l ph i a

J

B

Li ppi ncot t

MLNERR( 1967) Bl ack magi c bl ack ar t

.

Negro

Di ge s t Apr i l )

RESNK H S ( 1967) Br ave newwor l ds .

Sat ur day

Rev ( December

9)

SCHNECK S ( 1968) LeRoi J ones or poe t i c s and pol i cemen or , t r y i n g h e a r t ,

bl eedi ng h e a r t . Rampar t s ( J une 29)

VERGAN L ( 1969)

The

Di vi ne

Comedy

The

I nf erno Li ncol n Uni v

of

Nebr aska

P r e s s

THEROLE pl ayed

by

bl acks

i n t he

f o rmng

of

t he

newnat i on

i s

cl ear l y s e t for th

i n

t h i s i mpor t ant

cont ri but i on

t o a

l i t t l e- known aspect

of

Ameri can

hi st ory

Dr

Kapl an

presents

a

vi vi d pi ct ure

of t he bl ack

communi ty of t he t i me ,

magni f i -

c e n t l y

i l l u s t r a t e d

anddocumented

w t h mat er i al r angi ng f r om

d i a r i e s and

l e t t e r s t o newspaper

account s and

gover nment reports

TheBl ack Presence

i n t he Eraof t he

Ameri canRevol ut i on

1770- 1800

By

SI DNEY

KAPLAN

Uni versi ty of Massachusetts

8

col or

pl a t e s , 100 bw l l s

272

pp

8 1

2 x 11

i n s 15

. 00

At al l bookst or es,

or

from

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SOC ETY

14 Gr eenw ch Ave

Gr eenw ch, Conn

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