Today in class, we read and discussed the story "Thank You, Ma'm" by Langston Hughes. I love this story. It is short but very powerful, and one of the main characters, Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones, is my favorite fictional character. She is someone who could have easily have succumbed to the the hard knocks of her life, but who instead works hard and ekes out a living in an inner city beauty shop. Of simple background, she exudes the dignity of a queen.
The theme of the story is about the redemptive power of love. Not romantic love, but the kind that Jesus and Buddha were trying to tell people about. I think the scene where Mrs. Jones makes the boy wash his face to become "presentable" is an absolutely brilliant use of symbolism. It sends the powerful message that it is how we see ourself in the mirror that determines our actions, and it also says that the key to life is being to look in the mirror and see ourselves as being presentable.
I once a read an article that called Eminem a genius. Reading this story makes me realize that these vile, hate spewing wannabes like Mr. Mathers will
never be real genius. It is a part of the sickness of our age that some consider them so.
I know that growing up in the era of Opie Taylor and the Beaver kind of limits my credibility as to what constitutes genius in these troubled times. I know that it is inevitable that change occurs, but think that the true genius of this age will come in the realm of someone who manages to produce beauty from the rapidity of modern life and not from the hateful musings of rappers. In the meantime, I'll have to be content reading Langston Hughes.
No comments:
Post a Comment