Analysis of Little Things Are Big by Jesus Colon - Essay Example

Jesus colon "little things are big" Colon has narrated his near encounter in a deserted subway station at night with a White lady, her three children, one of them a baby in her arms and who was carrying a suitcase. The story shows what a black man feels when he is confronted with the issue of race and he is forced to loose his self reflection. The story highlights the conflict of race, prejudice and class conflict where a Negro wants to help a white woman but is afraid of approaching her in incase she mistakes him for an attacker (Colon, 1). The event occurred in 1955 when USA and the author recounts the story in the present setting. In those days, USA was racially segregated and the term ‘Negro’ was used often to identify Blacks in a derogatory manner. This was the perception and image that Jesus Colon felt white people had about Blacks, irrespective of the fact that Blacks were also humans with families, cultural values and ethics. The belief that guided Colon’s actions or lack of it was "[I]’m a *Negro and a Puerto Rican. Suppose I approach this white lady in this deserted subway station late at night?..."(Colon, 1). Colon’s perception and fear was that the white woman would react in panic when she saw a Negro approaching her on a deserted railway station. The intentions of the Negro would be unknown to her and with the prevailing suspicion and distrust against Blacks; the white lady would have probably panicked, screamed for help. The story highlights the dilemma and the personal loss of the capability for self reflection when a person from a racially minority community is placed in an uncertain situation and setting (Colon, 2). It appears that centuries of deprivation and degraded living as a Negro has made Colon believe the things that Whites accuse his race of. A critical examination shows that Colon appears to be a honorable man with high family values and culture. However, the cloistered atmosphere in the subway station appears to cloud his ability to reflect and think. For that brief instance of a few minutes when Colon is in a quandary and thinks about the proper course of action to be taken, all the fears that have been heaped on his race come out in a gush (Dodson, 32). A certain amount of racial stereotyping is apparent in the story. Both Jesus Colon and the White Lady appear to be victims of racial stereotyping. The Negroes have been profiled as violent and racially inferior beings fit for menial work only. On the other hand, White women are also racially stereotyped as racial bigots who presume that all black men are after them to outrage their modesty. These racial stereotypes are created mentally and in all probability, Colon has never been accused of such a crime and the white lady has never been a victim of the crime. However, what appears between the two is the great racial divide and bigotry that the system has created. The black man is held back by the fears that the white race has created about his own Negro race. The white woman is not aware of the turmoil that she has created with her three children and her apparent state of helplessness (Dodson, 35). The question that arises now is if Colon was a busybody and if the white lady really needed his help. She had presumably travelled from her home to the sub way on her own along with her baby and two young children. She had even got on the train on her own, taken care of her children and managed her suitcase. She had also got down from the busy train on her own managing her baby, the suitcase and her other two children. All that remained was for her to walk the long concrete ramp and out of the station. Having accomplished all this herself, why should she now ask for help from a strange Negro? If Colon had tried to help, in all probability, she would have said no thanks and moved on (Popkin, 56). The presumed reaction from the white lady if Colon had offered help is hypothetical. But the presumed reaction was based on the hard experience that Colon had gained over the years of living as a black man in the racist USA. In some instances, blacks have indeed turned violent and attacked whites. But then more whites have also turned against their own people and no one raised any racial fears about this. Just a few incidents of such violence create a deep rooted fear and prejudice. This prejudice and fear tends to cloud and interfere with a persons thought process. One can only speculate about the reaction of the white lady in case she was confronted by a black man on a deserted subway station. Centuries of mental conditioning and the horror stories in the media would have perhaps made her react in panic and she would cry out in fear and would perhaps try to save her children and herself from the attack of a Negro. Or perhaps, Colon misjudged her and she would have handed him her suitcase and thank him for carrying it (Dodson, 40). This is the presumed tragedy that modern black writers try to address in their writings. They assume one extreme position and begin their arguments to either support or disprove the point. Thus, Colon appears to be a martyr to his prejudiced thinking that clouded his self reflection and thinking. He is also filled with deep remorse that perhaps he should have set aside his fear and prejudice. Thus, Colon had walked away without helping the Lady. After emerging from the subway, Colon feels remorse at having failed the lady and her children and not offering to help. He also made a resolve in the future to remove his prejudices and help people irrespective of how the offer may be received (Colon, 2). There is an interesting interplay of race, fears, victimization, racial bigotry, domination, helplessness and remorse. Colon is held back by centuries of conditioning and continuous messages that the media speaks about his race. The subject is a vulnerable white female with three young children and who would evoke feelings of protection among men of all races. However, the deep rooted fears of racial bigotry dims and clouds the self reflection of Colon. He therefore, feels that it is more prudent to perhaps walk away unnoticed and live with his own demons rather than risk being called an attacker. These little demons inside his head perhaps made him recant his story after many decades had passed (Dodson, 4). WORKS CITED Colon, Jesus. "Little things are big". 2006. Down Town Magnets. 28 May 2012. Web Dodson. Howard. Black Literature Criticism: Classic and Emerging Authors since 1950. NY: Gale Cengage Learning. 2008 Popkin. Michael. Modern Black Writers. NY: Ungar Publishing Company. 1978 Read More