I saw it coming !!! "You look like death eating a soda cracker". This is what Lula says to Clay on page 2747 in scene I. I surmised from the beginning that Lula was conspiring to kill this man. I think the actual turning point in the story is when Lula (having been irritatingly flirtacious) turns to Clay and says, "I bet you never once thought you were a black nigger". It was really at this moment that I realized Lula was a racist bitch. The way she teased Clay and spoke to him was in a derogatory manner. She is hatred munching on an apple. Clay is justified in his reaction to Lula's craziness. Grabbing her and telling her to shut up is exactly what I would have done. Clay tries to calm her but she has flipped her lid so he slaps her.
The one thing I did not anticipate was the involvement of the other riders on the Dutchman. The ending left me questioning the role of the conductor as well. Was he in on it?
All in all, this was a good story that showed the brashness and pure hatred that racism can arouse. I still feel that Baldwin's story was based more in reality. I don't know how many awful things happened to African Americans on subways during the civil rights movement (I'm sure certain things did), but I do know that Baraka's take on racism shows the devious manner in which whites taunted and teased them in order to gain a certain amount of trust. Then, they stabbed them in the back. Racism is awful (duh!) and the short stories and poems we have read shine a bright light on the horrific treatment the white man imposed on the African American race.
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