Symbolism in the Play - Blues for Mister Charlie - Essay Example

Symbolism in the Play - Blues for Mister Charlie Blues for Mister Charlie is a play by James Baldwin. The play was written in the year 1965. The setting is a fictional city in the Southern part of the United States of America, Plague town. The time is almost of the same year as its writing. The main theme of the play is the racism issues that faced the United States of America during those times. The play talks about the murder of a dark skinned American citizen, Richard Henry. The main suspect for the murder crime is a manipulative store owner by the name Lyle Britten. However, the audience gets a treat of suspense on the murderer for a greater part of the play. The play shows a little bit of irony as Mr. Britten is eventually acquainted of the charges by the jury despite being guilty of murder. The black American population decides to deliver justice their own way after the court proves to be unable to do it. The writer has used place symbolism to enhance the drama value of the play. This paper aims at discussing the effort by the writer in using place symbolism. The writer uses symbolic places in various instances. A good example of such would be the name “plague town”. The writer uses the name plague in reference to the situation that was facing the American society at that time. It was during this period in history that racism was at its peak in the United States of America. He uses the term plague because racism was a serious problem at that time. It affected many lives and even went farther causing many deaths. It is because of this nature of racism that the writer James Baldwin decides to use the name plague town for the geographical location of the play (Norman 98). The choice of plague town as the name for the setting is appropriate as it shows how much American citizens were suffering from racism. This highly contributes to the dramatic value of the play. The terms white town and black town are also symbolic. The writer uses this to show the geographical division of many towns in the United States of America with respect to races. White town is the name they call the geographical area that the white citizens dwelt. The black town is the side of the town where the African Americans lived. This shows the contribution of both races to the racial division in the country. This can be explained by the plague town being the problem and the two parts of the town representing the groups of people causing the problem. In this play, the geographical division in the town was used to show the racial differences in the United States of America. It also shows the degree of difference between the social life of white Americans and the social life of African Americans. The content of the play can also be said to reflect the story of Emmett Till. Emmett Till was murdered in 1955 at the age of 14. He was an African-American boy whose death was shocking by any standards. The murder took place after speaking to a white woman in a Mississippi grocery store. The murderer kidnapped Emmett Till and took him to a barn where he decided to beat and gouge one of his eyes out. After this beastly act, he decided on shooting him in the head and dumping him in the Tallahatchie River. The fact that the both the victims in the real story and play are African-Americans shows the connection between the play and the real world condition (Norman 103). The writer has also used symbolism when he chooses a town in the Southern region of United States of America. During the time when racism took high position in the United States of America, the Southern region was the most affected. Mississippi is the town where the murder of Emmett Till took place. The most affected city in the United States of America, Birmingham also happens to be located in the Southern part of America. This town was rated, by various researches, as the most affected by racism (Melosi, et al 161). Through this, the reader gets to see the relationship between the writer’s choice of place and the reality of the social condition of the United States of America at that time. The fact that the court lets the suspect go unpunished shows symbolically the nature of injustices the African-Americans were experiencing during these times. This is highly evident in the way the jury handles the case. This symbolically shows the nature of services the African Americans used to get during that time. The government officials who were trusted with the responsibility of ensuring justice for all American citizens were mostly racial. This is why people would get away with social injustices just like that. This was because they did not consider members of a different race as their equals. Because of this they ended up giving unjust services to members of a particular race (Norman 143). After the murder of Richard Henry, the killer throws the body into the weeds. The use of weeds in this context is place symbolic. When the murder took place, there must have been some effort taken to carry the body to the weeds. This symbolically resembles the energy that the citizens were using in covering up injustice (Melosi, et al 172). This acts always make sure that justice never prevails and that the true side of the story remains unknown. The weed symbolically shows the other deeds that wrong doers use to hide injustices. For example, when someone commits a crime, they always find themselves in a situation where they are willing to do anything just to make sure nobody will get to know. The name chosen for the title of the play, "Blues for Mister Charlie" is also symbolic. "Mister Charlie" is a phrase African Americans use in reference to the white man (Brodskai 76). The title symbolizes the way the white Americans were treating the African Americans because of the belief that they are superior. Because of the relaxing nature of the blue it shows the reluctance of the white people to attend to the injustices on the black Americans. This further shows the lack of commitment of the white Americans population to treat the African Americans as their equals. In this play, James Baldwin uses Parnell James symbolically. Parnell James is an editor of the local newspaper and depicts as a neutral person. He treats both the white Americans and the African Americans equally. The writer also uses Parnell James to represent a few white Americans who did not accept racism. He also uses him as an example of an American citizen whose thinking was not racial. He sets an example to the audience of a good American citizen. The writer further tells about his relationship with an African American girl during his teenage. This further shows how much he did not tolerate racism (Melosi et al 83). Having gone through play, one notices that the role played by the use of symbolic place is very important. The absence of this would mean that the play is a report on what happened to Emmett Till. The dramatic value of the symbolic place in the play is inclusively and creatively reflecting to the actual occurrences in the society. Choice of the geographical setting is also symbolic. This highly attributes to the play’s drama scheme. The writer also uses the symbolic weeds which add dramatic value. This would also be viewed in the manner with which the writer chooses names and geographical place to stick to the main theme, racism. Work cited Brodskai︠a︡, N V. Symbolism. New York: Parkstone International, 2012. Internet resource. Melosi, et al. The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture: Vol. 9. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2008. Print. Norman, Brian. Neo-segregation Narratives: Jim Crow in Post-Civil Rights American Literature. Athens, Ga: University of Georgia Press, 2010. Print. Read More