In class we had a lively discussion, but we never really got a chance to debate what to me seemed like one of the most crucial questions: Was Dean wrong to have slept with Ray? The obvious answer would be yes--he put on a two-faced act and ended up betraying the person he loved by aiding and abetting blackmail. He felt enormously guilty after the fact, shown when he lays in bed and just contemplates everything he did and how it turned out so badly. And, in the end he never makes too much of a fuss about not getting the money and promotion for Terrell because he both realizes that he was foolish to believe that Terrell would ever be that outlandishly generous, while also feeling (I believe) like he deserved what he got for treating Ray the way he did.
But
did he? Breaking this issue down, I can't help but notice that this is a prime
example of "desperate times call for desperate measures" as his
mother was sick, there were bills piling up, and no food. An offer such as
Percy Terrell's must have sparked a glimmer of hope in him that he would have
done anything to keep. After all, Terrell's request must not have been so
outrageous to a boy (excuse me-- 23 year old "man") who is familiar
with selling himself. This was just one more client; only this was different because
the purpose of Dean's future encounter with Ray was to have a malicious intent,
thanks to Terrell. This really was different--something to legitimately feel
guilty over. Yes, Dean only met with Ray initially to seduce him for relatively
dark purposes (at least on Terrell's end, because Dean only needed money: not a
malignant hope). But, after just one short conversation, Dean fell in love with
Ray, attracted to not only his body but his slightly pretentious intelligence
and worldliness--the complete opposite of the "white trash" that Dean
sees himself as. So from that point of view, could Dean having sex with Ray be
just the innocent hookup of a smitten young man? He all but forgot the reason
behind it (though he never knew the full extent of Percy's motives) and merely
enjoyed all of the time that he was able to spend with Ray before the
catastrophe of the revealed plot occurred. I don't blame him, but I can see how
Ray would be offended that he seemed a double agent.
On
another note, I think race is a significant factor in this story, which can be
seen as the motive for the entire plot. Terrell's reasons for wanting to
blackmail Ray are certainly sketchy and transparently in only his own interest,
as he wouldn't want any competing landowners. Yet judging by his violent and
prejudice tendencies towards Dean, I would guess that Percy Terrell is
something along the lines of a raging racist. The feelings he has towards
African Americans do not allow for any black person to come close to being his
superior, and therefore a power struggle ensues. By getting one of his henchmen
into bed with Ray (or at least have it done on his terms) Terrell gets as close
emotionally to raping Ray as he can, by essentially having this sort of sexual
power over him.
This
ties back to Dean’s guilt, because I think he realizes the implications of what
he has done when he is lying in bed thinking about Ray and knowing that it is
too late. But, its unfortunate (though realistic) that he never got to explain
the situation to Ray, who had to be hurting while leading his double life.
I like your point about race in the story. I found it really interesting that the racial stereotypes were inverted in the story. You would expect a poor black boy to get tricked into sleeping with a successful white man, but instead, Dean is white and Ray is black. I like your idea that Ray being black brings out Terrell's racism, but it could also serve to make homophobia the main issue in the story instead of race, based on how Dean gets beaten up for being gay.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up an interesting point about the role race plays in the short story. For me, I think the dynamics of race definitely play a role in the power struggle between Ray and Terrell, in that Terrell possibly doesn't think that a black man should have so much power. Maybe if Ray was a white man he wouldn't feel as confident in his seemingly natural right to kick him off his land. But it seems as if the race of Dean is almost inconsequential -- he is powerless in the story to all characters. He is looked down upon by Terrell, but even by Ray he is definitely the weaker man in the relationship, and depends on Ray. Thus, I don't think the race of Dean necessarily plays a role, because I think he could have been used as a pawn by Terrell regardless of his race.
ReplyDeleteWe could probably construct a chart of some kind, to show how race, class, and sexuality are leveraged against each other throughout this story. Percy exploits his class advantage over Dean (which is what makes him susceptible to the plot in the first place--the prospect of money is too tempting), and wishes he could exploit what he assumes to be his racial advantage over Ray (he resents him for owning his family's land, partly because it messes with his own plans, but also because he doesn't like the idea of a prosperous, self-sufficient black man who is proud and doesn't bend to Percy's wishes). But sexuality becomes the trump card: Percy knows that outing Ray in this way will destroy his life, so he can always wield this against him. But Ray is a target of Percy's explicitly because he's black (Percy says so in no uncertain terms). And Dean remains at the bottom of the pyramid in every way--as poor AND gay, he exists only for Percy to exploit him. But Percy exploits him by seeming to play into a sense of racial solidarity: Dean will "work with him" in bringing down this "uppity" black man. But of course Percy doesn't *really* see any common cause with Dean. It's just there for him to use.
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