Breaking Down 'Blackout' by Roger Mais
SUMMARY
A white woman is standing at the bus stop when she is approached by a black man. At first she is not fearful of him because she has been cultured not to be easily frightened, and she is self-assured enough to believe that she can cry for help and be rescued by the suburban dwellers should she be attacked. However, her curiosity is sparked by the fact that he approaches her as if he has every right to do so, an action she finds surprising because in America, where she is from, black men do not usually approach white women.
The man asks her for a light for his cigarette, but she informs him she has no matches. He indicates that she can give him a light from her cigarette. She is uncomfortable allowing him to light his cigarette using hers but he maintains a steady and challenging gaze that makes her uncomfortable enough to relent. She reluctantly offers her cigarette so he can take a light from it. Instead of continuing to smoke her cigarette when he gets his own lit, she disposes of it in the gutter. The man finds this offensive and decides to confront her about it. At first she is reluctant to engage in a conversation with a black man 'because there was something indecent about it', but gives in because the man has no intention of being ignored, and she is of the notion she can gain some kind of entertainment she can share when she returns home.
The man, however, gets her to examine the beliefs on race that she has inherited and maintained for years. She is forced to face and second guess her own prejudices. When the bus eventually arrives, the white woman boards the bus and, though she would like to, does not look back. Once he is sure that he is no longer visible by anyone in the bus, the man quickly retrieves the discarded cigarette.
CHARACTERS
- white woman (American)
- black man (from the Caribbean)
THEMES
- discrimination
- racism
- appearance versus reality
- women in society
- wealth and poverty
- pride
- cultural differences
- third person narrator - The events in the story are told from the woman's points of view. It is through her perspective that the setting is established and information is given about her background and her feelings. Readers learn about the man through his actions and words.
- irony - The man stands up to the woman and does everything to maintain his pride in the face of what he perceives as an insolent act on her part. At the end, however, after she is out of sight, he hastily takes up the cigarette she just threw away. This action reinforces that it was important to him to maintain his manhood and not allow the woman to have the upper-hand in their conflict. It reminds us that he is poor. It is also ironic that she is schooled and humbled by a poor black man when she regards herself with such superiority. Her beliefs are challenged by the most unlikely of people.
- contrast - There is a difference in the woman's attitude before her encounter with the black man and after. Additionally, the man behaves differently during and after his encounter with the woman. The cultural backgrounds of the man are also different and their differences inform the attitudes of the man and woman towards each other.
- symbolism - The cigarette can be used to represent the financial state of the woman and the man. The woman is able to afford several cigarettes while the man's ability restricts his ability to indulge in these kinds of luxuries.
- dialogue - It is through conversation that the black man educates the woman by making her realize that the island is different from America. He asserts that in his country there are only men and women and they are able to live peacefully without 'lynchings and burnings and all that'. In the end, she acknowledges that he had 'shaken her supreme confidence in some important sense'. This means he gets her to question the racial prejudice that has guided her way of thinking.
- descriptive details - The description of the man aids in creating an impression of the poverty he experiences. For example, 'there was a curious look as of great hunger or unrest about the eyes'. Additionally, in the conflict with the woman the writer describes how he looks at the woman so it can be seen what specifically contributes to the tension in the scene and the discomfort within the woman. The description of the woman's reaction to his assertions reinforces her discomfort.
- pun - There is a play on the word 'blackout'. In one sense it refers to the darkened state of the street because of the wartime policy and, in the other, it signals the state of the woman's mind, one which has its own kind of blackout as a result of prejudice. The man (a black one who is out in the open and confident to do so) seeks to illuminate her mind by getting her to see that her stance on racial equality is flawed.
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