BIG BLACK GOOD MAN! By Richard wright

The author’s history helps to give some insight to the purpose of his stories. He was a son of a sharecropper in Mississippi as a child. As he grew older he became very upset with the treatment of African Americans and became a communist with Marxist views in 1932. He eventually moved from the United States for Paris due to his dislike of the treatments of African Americans. He continued on to write many stories and poems. A set of long stories won Best manuscript in a Story Magazine these stories were published as Uncle Tom’s Children. He continued on to write, Eight Men, Black Boy and Native Son many of these stories have the Marxist perspective to them. I have not read these stories but have read Big Black Good Man (1957).

This story is about Olaf Jenson a white hotel manager. He is not racist in his opinion but when he meets Jim a very tall, muscular and very dark skinned African-American he became very hateful towards in. For this instance he became very much prejudice and for the life of himself he could not figure out why. The more you read you see if felt he was not racist but Jim had all the characteristics of black people that he had not seen before. He feared him due to his size and color. He spent a long time cursing this man and not wanting to even give the man a room when he had them. In the story Olaf was really confused to why after dealing with cultures of all races including blacks why this man he feared so much. When Jim leaves the room after six nights there he put his hands around Jim’s throat and massaged his throat. Olaf was terrified and swore Jim wanted to kill him. The more I read the more I believed Olaf may have envied the health and strength of this man. He also found himself questioning the lady he kept sending to Jim as if Jim would hurt this lady. For several nights Olaf cursed the ground, water and anything the Jim would touch. He wished him harm and death. He pleasured himself in the thought of Jim’s death. A year later Jim returns. Again Olaf is terrified and promised himself he would shot Jim dead if he gets close to him. This time he did refuse Jim a room but Jim was not looking for a room. He brought Olaf gifts. Six nice shirts he presented to Olaf. Olaf was blown away by the gesture and guilty for all the hate he sent to Jim. He admitted to Jim he thought he was trying to kill him and cried openly at that thought. In the end Jim left and Olaf had realized he had judged a book by its cover. This story almost had me in tears. How many times have I judged a book by its cover? How many times did I think I knew what someone was thinking about me and prejudged the situation and took action on those thoughts? I can say many times and reading this story helped me to see that you cannot possibly know everything and your own insecurities can tell you a whole story that is not there.

- Cassa Arnold