All posts from now on are for history as fiction

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Afrofuturism in Mumbo Jumbo

Though I enjoyed reading Mumbo Jumbo, I think every member of our class can agree that the narrative was confusing at times. The inclusion of graphs, spontaneous lists of words, and lack of upfront exposition threw me for a bit of a loop when I first began reading it, and though I eventually got more used to the style of the book, it still was unlike any other novel I’ve ever read. However, the element of Mumbo Jumbo that was the most bewildering for me was its usage of time. The plot of Mumbo Jumbo doesn’t exactly progress linearly, instead, it swings back and forth between the main storyline of Jes Grew in the 1920s and other points in history, such as the 1970s,  though the time spent in these different time periods is usually brief, and provides context or some connection to the 1920s story. The 52 chapters are the culmination of these time period switches, where Papa Le Bas spends two chapters recounting the history of Jes Grew and the Atonists, starting with Ancient Egyptian ...
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Rufus: "Her Little Jackass"

  The main focus of Kindred is Dana and Rufus, and the evolving yet also stagnant relationship they share throughout the novel. The story is told through Dana’s first person perspective, so as readers, we get to hear her inner monologue. However, we do not get the same viewpoint with Rufus, and we only see him through Dana’s eyes. While Rufus’s personality is objectively different from other white characters in the 18th century setting such as his father Tom Weylin, Dana’s characterization of Rufus is heavily affected by her unique familial ties with him, and it blurs the lines of Rufus’s true motivations and limits.   At the beginning of Kindred when Rufus is still a child, he’s a generally sympathetic character. The racist standards of the time are made apparent by his usage of the n word, however, he also listens to Dana when she tells him not to use it, shows interest and excitement towards Dana’s relationship with Kevin, and seems to have respect for her. With the added k...
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Bessie's Neglect in Native Son

Richard Wright’s Native Son follows Bigger, a 20 year old black man living in poverty in Chicago. As Bigger is thrown into a flurry of new circumstances, Wright intricately depicts Bigger’s thoughts in real time, and as readers, we see the rationale behind Bigger’s decisions and personality. Though Bigger commits serious crimes, he still is a humanized, complex, and understandable character, due to the oppression and discrimination he faces. However, one character living in a very similar situation to Bigger gets significantly less focus than him from the characters in Native Son , as well as within the book itself. Bessie, Bigger’s lover, and eventually the victim of rape and murder by Bigger, plays an insignificant role in Bigger’s mind, and, therefore, is rarely focused on throughout Native Son . Whether intentionally or not, Richard Wright spent minimal time developing Bessie’s character, and in the novel, she is depicted as simply a byproduct. Bessie lives a life akin to Bigger’s...
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