49 pages • 1 hour read
Langston HughesThe Ways of White Folks
Fiction | Short Story Collection | Adult | Published in 1934A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Stories 7-9Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Story 7 Summary: “The Blues I’m Playing”
Mrs. Ellsworth, a wealthy widow, uses her money to support budding artists. A music critic recommends Mrs. Ellsworth hear a young Black pianist named Oceola Jones. After hearing Oceola play, Mrs. Ellsworth is convinced of the girl’s musical genius. She offers to pay Oceola’s bills and rent her a small apartment. At first, Oceola hesitates. She already has a busy schedule teaching her own students and playing in various Black venues around New York: “Mrs. Ellsworth had the feeling that the girl mistrusted her generosity, and Oceola did—for she had never met anybody interested in pure art before” (102). Mrs. Ellsworth doesn’t give up. She asks about Oceola’s upbringing and listens intently. Both Oceola’s parents are dead, and Oceola lets a porter, Pete, live in her apartment for free while he saves up to go to medical school. After hearing Oceola’s story, Mrs. Ellsworth again insists on helping her financially. Oceola would be Mrs. Ellsworth’s first Black protégée, and the novelty excites Mrs. Ellsworth.
After Pete leaves for medical school, Mrs. Ellsworth finally convinces Oceola to move into a new apartment. Years pass. Financially secure, Oceola studies and practices. She plays for Mrs. Ellsworth’s friends but still makes time to play jazz at Black venues. Mrs. Ellsworth isn’t thrilled about jazz but feels pleased overall: “At such times the elderly white woman was glad her late husband’s money, so well invested, furnished her with a large surplus to devote to the needs of her protegees, especially to Oceola, the blackest—and most interesting of all” (110). All the while, Oceola appreciates the benefits of her new life. However, she grows tired of how Mrs. Ellsworth worships art; Oceola doesn’t think art is enough to solve the problems of the world.
Oceola spends time living in Paris and plays across Europe to rave reviews. She returns to the US and attends Pete’s college graduation, and Pete asks Oceola to marry him. Mrs. Ellsworth disapproves, arguing that Oceola should dedicate herself to her music. Oceola plays another concert in the States to less-enthusiastic reviews, and Mrs. Ellsworth blames Pete. The two women argue. Oceola remains determined: She will marry Pete, and they will move to a place with a strong Black community, something she’s been longing for. Before she marries, Oceola plays for Mrs. Ellsworth one last time in a style Mrs. Ellsworth didn’t pay for her to learn—the blues. Oceola calls the blues a mixture of happy and sad, Black and White, man and woman. The story ends as Oceola plays and sings while Mrs. Ellsworth listens.
Story 8 Summary: “Red-Headed Baby”
Clarence, a crude sailor, does what he can to enjoy his time docked on the Florida coast. He complains, “What the hell is there to do except get drunk and go out and sleep with n*****s? Hell!” (125). He goes to visit Betsy, a young Black woman he slept with three years ago. As he makes his way across town, Clarence rants to himself about the impoverished communities he sees. He remembers that Betsy liked his red hair and told him she had never slept with a White man before. Clarence isn’t excited to see Betsy again, but he continues on his way and eventually arrives at her house.
Inside, Betsy is wearing makeup, which she didn’t wear the last time Clarence saw her. Betsy and her family are drinking, too, which surprises Clarence. He remembers them being a Christian family that didn’t drink. They offer Clarence some nice rum, which he accepts. He tells Betsy to sit on his lap, and she obliges. Clarence enjoys himself briefly, until one of the doors in the house cracks open and a red-headed, three-year-old boy walks into the room.
The family tries to tell the little boy—whose name is also Clarence—to go back in his room, but he doesn’t hear because he is deaf. The older Clarence watches the boy crawl around the floor, which angers him. The boy approaches his father and touches his leg, frustrating the man even more: “Hurry! Go on! Get him out then! What’s he doin’ crawlin’ round dumb as hell lookin’ at me up at me” (131). The family can’t stop the little boy before he knocks over some glasses, and everyone starts to yell. Fed up, Clarence gives the family some money for the rum he had. They wish Clarence would stay the night, like he did three years ago, but he declines and leaves.
Story 9 Summary: “Poor Little Black Fellow”
Amanda and Arnold Lee, Black servants to the White Pemberton family, die unexpectedly. Arnold dies serving in World War I, and Amanda dies of pneumonia shortly after. Their five-year-old son, Arnie, is left orphaned, but the Pembertons take him in, seeing it as their Christian duty to raise him. They do what they can to give Arnie a privileged upbringing. Arnie does well in school and attends church. The town, entirely White except Arnie, commend themselves for accepting him: “One would think that nobody in the town need ever again do a good deed: that this acceptance of a black boy was quite enough” (136). As Arnie gets older, he’s progressively left out. When he’s denied from joining the Boy Scouts, the Pembertons send him to a Black summer camp. Arnie doesn’t connect with anyone there either because of his rich upbringing. Everyone in town continues to be nice to Arnie, but he is always excluded in some way. The Pembertons are excited, then, when Arnie agrees to go to Fisk, a Black college.
Before Arnie leaves for college, the Pembertons take him to Europe. The boat crew discovers Arnie is Black and moves him to second class, while the Pembertons stay in first. They arrive in Paris and stay in a lavish hotel. There, they meet Claudina Lawrence, a young Black woman from Atlanta. Claudina invites Arnie to meet her friends and socialize, and Arnie is delighted: “Somebody had offered him something without charity, without condescension, without prayer, without distance, and without being nice” (146). Arnie meets Claudina’s friends: artists and people of all different ethnicities. They drink and dance and stay out late, and Arnie has a wonderful time. The next day, Arnie wants to see his new friends again, but the Pembertons pressure him to see Versailles, then lecture him about the evil temptations of Paris. Arnie doesn’t listen. He goes out again and bonds with a Romanian music student, Vivi. Vivi is White but doesn’t care about color the way Arnie saw in America. He introduces Vivi to the Pembertons, who respond rudely; the site of Arnie and Vivi together unsettles them, and they wonder if Vivi is a prostitute.
Mrs. Pemberton wants to take Arnie back to America. She’s worried about the effect Paris is having on him. Arnie doesn’t want to go back. He hates America—how segregated it is, how alone he’s always felt. Arnie’s father died fighting for the US, and Arnie now thinks that was a foolish decision. Hearing him say this, Mrs. Pemberton weeps. Mr. Pemberton comes in and tells Arnie to leave, a racist slur at the back of his throat. Arnie obliges and walks out the door.
Stories 7-9 Analysis
Stories 7-9 utilize a central motif in The Ways of White Folks: leaving. At the end of each story, the main character leaves, or plans to leave, their current environment. Oceola plans leave Mrs. Ellsworth’s patronage. Clarence leaves Betsy’s house. Arnie leaves the hotel and the Pembertons. In each case, the main character exits because they hope to find something better: Oceola wants to live in a strong Black community. Clarence wants to escape fatherhood and his biracial son. Arnie wants to live in a more inclusive and equal place. Hughes never explains what happens to each character after they leave. Whether or not their lives change for the better can only be speculated, but with each story, Hughes suggests that happier futures require leaving the present situation and not looking back. Previous stories concluded similarly. At this point in the collection, it becomes clear that leaving is a central motif for Hughes.
Music continues to appear regularly in these stories, another motif for Hughes. Throughout The Ways of White Folks, several main and supporting characters are musicians. Like Roy in “Home,” Oceola’s musical talents help her find financial success and personal fulfillment. Music helps her escape the hardships of the world she was born in. However, Hughes is careful not to over-aggrandize the power of music. Oceola herself comments art isn’t enough to irradicate racism. Additionally, with Mrs. Ellsworth’s character, Hughes shows how tastemakers can impact music. Mrs. Ellsworth is rich and admires classical music, much more than genres like jazz. She prefers Oceola study her tastes rather than Oceola’s own preferences. Music positively impacts many of the characters throughout the collection, but “The Blues I’m Playing” also reminds the reader to consider the significance of who decides what music is “good” and what music is “bad.”
Hughes continues repurposing plot structures to craft new commentary and give additional perspectives on the negative effects of racism. “The Blues I’m Playing” and “Poor Little Black Fellow” follow similar structures to “Slave on the Block” and “A Good Job Done”; a rich White family provides financial support for a Black person, and drama slowly unfolds. Compared to the previous stories, “The Blues I’m Playing” depicts a more mutually beneficial relationship. Mrs. Ellsworth believes in Oceola’s art, and her financial support allows Oceola time to practice. Still, Mrs. Ellsworth’s obsession with art above all else leads to their relationship’s downfall. Unlike Mrs. Ellsworth, art isn’t enough for Oceola. She needs a community that she feels a part of. Like the Carraways in “Slave on the Block,” Mrs. Ellsworth believes she’s doing the right thing, but she fails to respect Oceola’s perspective.
In “Poor Little Black Fellow,” the Pembertons display similar flaws. They make sweeping generalities about Black people: “Because they thought they saw in Amanda and Arnold the real qualities of a humble and gentle race. That, too, was why they had decided to keep Arnie, poor little black fellow” (134). The Pembertons’ kindness stems from their looking down at Arnie. Despite their attempts at kindness, Mrs. Pemberton refers to Arnie as “it” when he’s a baby, and in Paris, their prejudices become more explicit. When they see Arnie with Vivi, Hughes writes: “The Pembertons couldn’t imagine that so lovely a white girl would go out with a strange Negro unless she were a prostitute” (55). By the end, their flawed kindness results in Arnie leaving them and his home country.
Unlike previous stories, “Red-Headed Baby” centers exclusively on the perspective of a racist character, Clarence. Characters like him have previously only been supporting villains in earlier stories, such as “Home.” By focusing on Clarence, Hughes creates a portrait of an angry and unhappy man, unfulfilled in all aspects of life. Clarence’s happiest moment comes when he drinks rum with Betsy on his lap, and the moment lasts for a single paragraph. “Red-Headed Baby” focuses on a working-class person, like previous stories, only this time it is a through the lens of a racist White man. We see that Clarence’s life is no better than anyone else’s. His racist opinions haven’t benefited his life at all. With these three stories, established plot structures provide familiarity, but the characters bring new insights.
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