The Threat of Black Masculinity in Brutal Imagination by Cornelius Eady - Book Report/Review Example

The threat of Black masculinity in Brutal Imagination by Cornelius Eady In 2001 Eady Cornelius in his book of poems Brutal Imagination speaks out of American racism and social perception of the black. In this work Eady displays ‘a sharp satiric sensibility’ which was rare in his previous works. (Spears Jones 2002 p.50) Brutal Imagination has political implications as it reflects on either race, gender, class or status. However, the predominant motif is race. The poem contains a larger message the author wants to bring to the public and this message is evident – racial prejudices persist till nowadays. (Some Notes, 2005) In Brutal Imagination Eady explores the product of racist imagination - the image of the black man as a threat. Smith, a white woman, reported the police that her car was hijacked by a black man who drove away her little sons. The bodies of the boys were found in the lake nearby. Nine days the woman fooled the police and public with an imaginary black man to cover her own crime. The narrator is this very imaginary black man who exists in the imagination of Susan Smith who killed her children and tried to conceal the murder by putting all the guilt on a ‘young black male’ who had never existed in reality. ‘The black perpetrator’ is a product of a white woman’s imagination and the first section of the book is written from his perspective – “Susan Smith willed me alive. At the moment Her babies sank into the lake When called, I come.” (p.3) Nonexistent black man blamed by a white women of the crime committed by this very women shows how race creates prejudices and associations which are so deeply imbedded into society that the story of the woman is easily believed. ‘She knew she could get further if she said the black man did it. – A black resident of Union…’ (p.16 ) Smith had no doubt that her story was going to sound credible. She only needed to imagine ‘a black resident’ who could well suit to the role of a murderer. Smith vividly describes the looks of the black man – ‘I make my living by taking things. So now mother needs me clothed In hand-me-downs And a knit cap…’ (p.3) The most terrible part is how easy Mrs. Smith imagined the assailant and felt no qualms as to her lie. She has no doubts as to who could do it: “Nobody else in town will do what She needs me to do.” (p.4) Mrs. Smith believes that no one but a black man could “… jump in an idling car And drive off with two sad and Frightened kids in the back.” (p.4) she was to invent somebody to convince police and public of this crime and she finds. The scariest thing here is how easily she finds a proper imagine for a criminal. The Smith’s story is believed and Eady brings to the public the idea that perception of black men in America is stereotyped. They are viewed as murderers, robbers, gangsters and the like. Mr. Zero, imaginary hero becomes ‘a mirror for all of us, way to contemplate how far we have and have not come.’ (Tretheway 2002, p.25) The police and press took the story of Ms. Smith about Mr.Zero for granted at her word - the word of a white woman against the black man. There were also calls from ‘witnesses’ who saw African-American at gas stations and convenience stores. A man swears he saw me pump gas With children At a convenience store… (p.6) Brutal Imagination is a very particular story, which has slipped into the swamp of generality. Mister Zero is the black stereotype du jour -- the image of the African-American as gangsta of the white imagination owes at least as much to black rap groups and black film-makers. (Steyn 2002 p.38) The image of the black perpetrator has deeply imbedded in the social mindset and reflects itself in social expectations. Mr. Zero agrees: “I flicker from TV to TV … I hover Over so many lawns, so many cups of coffee. I pour from lip to lip.” (p.11) Eady introduces ‘the latest model of white America's black bogeyman’ – ‘I am piecemeal’ as Mr.Zero describes himself. Imaginary black man did not exist in real world but everybody clearly saw him in the imagination. His image lived in the mind of people. (Steyn 2002 p.39) It’s not possible for Mr. Zero to free oneself from stereotype: “I am not me, yet. I am just an understanding.” (p.51) At the final stages of Smith's confession a white woman and Mr. Zero, the black imaginary kidnapper, are tied: “we're hard to untangle.” (p.45) and this is a clear expression of the author’s position that cultural bias of black men as criminals is a projection of white people. Smith was not the first person ‘to capitalize on society's fear of black men and such stereotyping of Afro-Americans as criminals; her crime was simply the most sensational.’ (McKee 2001, p.112) Mister Zero lines up with other well-known stereotypes- Uncle Tom, Unlce Ben, Aunt Jemima, Stepin Fetchit who have their own monologues in the poem. From the speech of Uncle Tom the reader come to be aware of bitterness of the black people. He talks about himself as an embodiment of all black people’ stereotype: “… a brute, A flimsy ghost of an idea. …I'm well aware Of what I've become; a name Children use to separate themselves On a playground.” (p.25) The irony of the poem is in the fact that Smith's lie was accepted as truth so easily and the image of the black man as a threat raised no doubts. The reason is simple - black people stereotyping. It has been common since the eras of Western imperialism, slavery and colonialism. The social conditions and colonial relationships between blacks and whites led ‘to the perception of black people as effectively sub-human.’ (Carrington 2002 p.100) This view is reflected in the poem “Who Am I?” as well: “As if suddenly given the power To move through walls, To know every secret without permission.” (p.5) And this distorted perception has lasted till now. The Smith case described in Brutal imagination captures “the nation's bigotry and love of scapegoating Black people.” (Levine 2002 p.10) Mr. Zero at the same time contemplates on the fate of children: ‘one good thing: If I am alive, then so, briefly, are they, two boys returned…” (p.5) The black man preying on children of a white woman regrets on his life after the unjust lie of Mrs Smith made him a ‘culprit’: “And this is my life now. I am a faint hum behind The sensation, the blur of doubt At the corner of the flash bulb. (p.44) The second cycle, "Running Man,” focuses on the black family and the same problems which black people are likely to meet in everyday life – stereotyping and racial prejudices. Unlike imaginary Mr. Zero, the Running Man is about a real African American who introduces himself as a running man: “I am a running man The shadow in the corner of your eye. …. Why not Is my blood My story My middle name. God made me pretty God made me smart God made me black, Which only proves God’s infinite sense of humor.” (p.90) From these lines the reader experiences irony which sounds in the words of the young black man. The second cycle of the book is closely related with the Brutal imagination as the theme of identity and black threat is evident in both series of poems. The poems tell about the violent death of a black man and how it affected his family. The poems in Running Man are narrated by mother, father, sisters who react differently on the death of Running Man. Tommy or Running Man himself also comments his life as a ghost. Tommy from early age exhibits ambition and intellect and he expects “that maybe not everything happens The way they say it should.” (p.71) However, reality is that the best expectations can be crashed. Running man is also a message of racism and prejudice which is destructive for black youth and their families. Miss Look, younger sister of Tommy, recalls episodes from his life. She is looking for reasons behind his death. The message the reader finds in the poem is that a person carries no responsibility for one’s deeds but is a product of the environments one lives in: “…black bottom friends that helped drag Tommy down.” (p.69) Both Brutal Imagination and Running Man project on the issue of a black man as a threat to a woman. While in the first cycle it was an imaginary kidnapper, a bogeyman born in the mind of a white woman, in the second cycle a real person kills his lover and buries in the pines: “When I buried her, I howled like A wolf had caught me In its jaws There are mud And pine needles On the soles of My boots…” (p.96) Both poems are about popular imagines of black men projected in one case by white people and in another by the family of the hero. Both poems highlight the problem of identity and racial prejudices. The readers become aware how deeply imbedded are stereotypes about black people, particularly men, in the society and how these stereotypes affect the lives of separate people. Black men are stereotyped as criminals, perpetrators, kidnappers and the threat to white population, particularly women. The society puts a label on people without knowing their real identity and makes people live in certain limits. Their life becomes dependent upon these limits and it’s very hard to get out of this vicious circle. Cornelius Eady brings these ideas to general public through brilliant poetry which is unsophisticated and the message is quite clear. The poems make people think over their views and contemplate on life of other people. References: Carrington, Ben `Fear of a Black Athlete: Masculinity, Politics and the Body. New formations 45 (2002): 91-110 McKee, L., Brutal imagination. (Book Review). Library Journal 126 (2001): 112 Levine, Eleanor. "Brutal imagination' a nonfiction." New York Amsterdam News 93(2002):10 Spears Jones, Patricia Cornelius Eady. Bomb 79 (2002): 48-54 Some Notes On Cornelius Eady & Brutal Imagination. April 09, 2005 http://greatamericanpinup.blogspot.com/2005/04/some-notes-on-cornelius-eady-brutal.html retr. 12 Nov. 2007 Steyn, Mark Brutal Imagination The New Criterion 20 (2002):37-41 Trethewey, Natasha About Cornelius Eady. Poetry & Fiction. 28/1 (2002):25 Read More