Devil in a Blue Dress — A Response (Part 2)
How do you define a term you don’t racially identify with? For me, I immerse myself with information and ask questions when appropriate. Blackness, although an identity I’ve been exposed to since kindergarden is foreign to me. Foreign in that I will never understand truly what blackness is. That doesn’t mean I cannot empathize with some of the experiences brought upon black people but I will always be an outsider. However, in reading Devil in a Blue Dress I’ve realized that my definition of blackness differed from what was showcased in the book. Blackness unfolds in a multitude of ways in Devil in a Blue Dress, but the most striking to me are how Easy and his best friend Mouse experience blackness. Both are Southern men likely raised in similar circumstances but experience blackness in different ways. Easy is a proud man but not entirely comfortable with his identity while Mouse is “so confident that there was no room for fear” (Mosley, 94.)
Blackness as I’ve known it has been defined by where I grew up. I admittedly profiled blackness as a loud and sometimes vicious but with the exceptional few. Often I assumed that all black and/or African American people acted and portrayed themselves as a sterotypical black person. Reflecting on it now I should not have done that and should have taken the time back then to learn what blackness truly is but Devil in a Blue Dress puts me in a bind because blackness is fluid and not a one size fits all as I thought. Of course the characters in the book are fictional but characteristics of their personalities and their experiences but be rooted in some truth. Reading about Easy proves to me that blackness is not as black and white as I make it out to be.
From the beginning, Easy appears comfortable in his identity, however, that changes anytime he is in the presenceof white men whether it’s Mr. Albright, Mr. Carter, the white teenagers in Santa Monica or the police officers accusing him of murder. In each instance Easy conforms to his idea of what a black person should act like which is subdued and proper. Such as when “a white man of authority [catches him] off guard, [he empties his] head of everything so [he is] unable to say anything” (13–14). Internally he subscribes to the sterotypical black man (strong and at times angry, forceful, or violent). For example, when the white teenagers are hounding Easy he is “aware of the things he could do to these boys such as breaking their necks, putting out their eyes, or breaking their fingers (Mosley 53–54). Easy has dual concept of what it means to be black and as his character progresses in the story he begins to embrace and utilize the stereotypical characteristics of blackness as he realizes they are part of him and could be used to his advantage.
Mouse on the other hand is sure of himself. He embraces what Easy fears in a black man. He is capable of anything and everything even though he was a smaller man. According to Easy, “Mouse didn’t ever feel bad about anything he’d done; he was just that kind of man” (Mosley, 93.) Mouse differs from Easy because he doesn’t allow his blackness to be defined by white men or by those around him. He defines himself and if that means he is conforming to an idea that white people have of him then so be it. His confidence is outstanding and shows that blackness is what you make it not what others think it should be made of. Mouse is a peculiar kind of character because his acceptance of s stereotypical construct doesn’t faze him. He is violent when he wants and shows mercy as he pleases but according to Easy, his “best friend would have put a bullet in [his] head if he ever thought I was unsure of him” (Mosley, 93.)
It’s surprising to read the differences between the characters because as I mentioned in the beginning they both have (or may have had) similar beginnings. Of course, characters would be boring if they all had similar traits but when dealing with racial identity I imagined that how blackness is experienced would be similar across the board. I understand that I may seem ignorant but I can admit that and love that this book teaches me something.
