Class Assignment: Favorite Quote

For my African American Literature class today, we had a very fun assignment. Bring in your favorite quote from one of the pieces we're read. Now, we've gone through four books and several short stories, so I had a LOT to choose from. However, I eventually selected this one, from Oxherding Tale by Charles Johnson...

"Is that fair!" I touched him, then pulled back my hand; it was like grabbing a boa constrictor seconds after it swallowed a family of rats. "Your duty is to destroy, I understand that! There must be destroyers. But you sound like a philosopher! A modern philosopher--the mechanic who analyzes the propositions of madmen and sages with the same impartiality, refusing to pass judgement!" I shouted again, "Is it fair that you destroyed my friend--'only following orders,' you'll plead, and I can appreciate that, the dancing of Shiva from birth to death, the cosmic drama where all creatures are sacrificed, regardless of their personal dreams, to a God moving mysteriously, struggling to spin a well-made story, making some of us walk-ons, or extras--maybe Negroes in the New World were only hired for the crowd scenes--but I ask you, Horace, you, the holy torpedo, the mercenary of Brama, I put it to you, do you approve?"

"You still don't see hit," he said. "Ah approves everythin'. Ah approves nothin'."

~Charles Johnson, Oxherding Tale

Oxherding Tale

I've just finished reading Oxherding Tale (Charles Johnson), for my African American Literature class....and I must say, it was quite an experience. We approached the book from a completely different angle than I normally would; namely, we tore the book apart, analyzing every little detail and countering every argument we proposed with another. Everything had two answers; it could be this, but it could also be that. I was fascinated.

Another big thing this professor stressed was to "destroy those virgin pages" (or, in my humble opinion, RAPE those virgin pages).....Basically, write all over them. That was really hard for me...I couldn't believe he expected me to write all over my books, to leave notes in the margins and smears of yellow highlighter over passages and quotes. But, after I got past the initial stress of the situation, I really started to enjoy it....A lot. That's not to say I'm going to write in all my books, but it makes it a lot easier to understand and focus on things in the class if I allow myself to write on the pages.

Oxherding Tale was a fascinating experience. I'm going to have to read it again, because there is so much that I have missed, but I feel like I've also picked up on a lot. I know that I would never have gotten this experience if it wasn't for my professor. He brought the book to life; which is what a good professor does, right? ;)

Oxherding Tale is the story of Andrew, a slave with a black father and a white mother. Because of his mixed blood, he is able to pass for white, so he escapes from slavery and tries to make a name for himself. The book carries a weird, almost ethereal quality to it, like a dream at parts. One character in particular seemed to fade in and out of reality; at times, it was hard to tell if he was even a real person or the incarnation of some dark force. This is the Horace Bannon the bounty hunter, also known as "The Soulcatcher".

There is not a lot I can say about Bannon without giving stuff away, but this is a book you should definitely, read. Just make sure to give yourself the time to read it before you do. It's a book that deserves your time and attention, and needs you to look it over bit by bit. If for nothing else, read it for Soulcatcher....he fascinated me throughout the novel.