A Divided Self:
Isolation of blackintenectualSinBhke or tfle Huts oJAmerica
Masahiko Seki
It is in 1903 that W. E. B. DuBois indicated twoness that lurks in Afhcan
AmeriCan's mind in 771e Souls of Black Folk. Recently more and more critics
explore this "twoness/'orambivalence, as a key to solving the problems caused
by the current social systems･ Brent Edwards regards African American
diaspora as an opposing concept to ongoing globalization, focusing on the
break, or ambivalence, that originally exists in it.1 又oss Posnock says the
AfricanAmerican "twoness" destabilizes any categories and some African
American writers such as DuBois and Fanon tried to be free from identity
politics. I think these interests in African American ambivalences as
destabilizing force are not unrelated to recent reappraisement of the importance
of Martin R･ Delany, who has been traditionally regarded as a simple-minded
emigrationist･ Posnock says "Itlhat DuBois positions himself outside the Delany
and Douglass polarities is a measure of his suppleness" (327). But he is wrong.
It is tme that Douglass and Delany represent the opposite poles, but the latter
shows "Suppleness''if not so supple as DuBois,
Delany began to publish Btake or tfle Huts ofAmerfca, the third novel
written by an Afro-American according to Floyd Miller, in 1859. Interestingly,
Frederick Douglass, who has been regarded as his rival, published the novella,
Heroic Shoe, around the same time･ These two works reveal their striking
differenc e.
The protagonist of Heroic Shoe is a white abolitionist. The "heroic slave,''
Matthew, is viewed mainly mrough the eyes of仇e protagonist In short, here a
black slave isanobject that is to be understoodwith white intelligence, nlere
is a cleardistinction between a white subject and a black object. We cansay, in
this novella, Douglass'S "twoness" is divided into a subject and an object. The
structure remains unchanged to the end. "Twoness''stabilizes the whole
structure rather than reveals ambivalence. As a result, Heroic Slave lacks
complexityinherent in the genre of the novel. Probablythis is the reason for the
low valuation of this novella as a literary work,
Seki I A Divided Self:
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Isolation of black intellectuals in Blake or tfle Huts oJAmerica
On the other hand, B王αke has complejdty, probably contrary to the author's
intention･ It is clear that Delany intended to create a black hero, his ideal alter
ego. It is highly likely that he was, or tried to be, unconscious of his "twoness
because what he wanted to embody was a genuine black figure who can lead
thepeople of his blood to freedom.While Douglass's explicit "twoness" brings
stability to his novella, Delany's underlying ambivalence destabilizes the
ideological framework of his novel and, in doing so, betrays the difficult
situation that suspends him between whites and blacks or ordinaIY black
people and black intellectuals･
What the protagonist, Blake, tries to establish is a monolithic community,
where only transparent language is spoken･ Blake says to his fわllowers, HIf you
have so decided and detemined, I desire each to so express himself audibly
and distinctly, that the name may stand on our secret record to be seen and
read by future generations" (291), But clearly this remark does not mean that
they can say whatever they like. Blake listens to and welcomes only the
opinions that strengthen their sense of solidarity: otherwise, his community,
which has "one God, who is and must be our acknowledged common Father"
(258), would face the danger of collapse. Voices that are inconvenient for
maintenance of his community are likely to be ignored.
However, slaves'language is sometimes opaque･
Fastened by the unyielding links of the iron cable of despotism,
reconciling themselves to a lifelong misery, they are seemingly contented
by soothing their sorrows with songs and sentiments of apparently
cheerful but in reality wailing lamentations. (100)
Like other slave narratives, Songs show the duality lurking in singers
attitude and language･ They sing, There I've a sister and a brother/ Lying in
theirpeaceful graves" (101). But it is not so hard for contemporary readers to
recognize the implication the expression, "peaceful graves," carries. Obviously
singers do not think their "sister and a brother" lie peacefully. Only those who
think slaves do not have enough intelligence to use opaque language do not
notice the implication･
In fact, for slaves the first step toward freedom is telling a lie. Mammy Judy
has been "an honest old creature" and "religious to a fault" (46), according to
Mr･ and Mrs･ Franks･ But, asked about the disappearance of Joe, she says "ah
knows nothin"bout it" (46), that is, probably for the first time in her life, tells a
157
1ie･ It goeswithout saying that this is the first step toward the separation of her
and her owners. In short, using opaque language is indispensable for the
independence of slaves･ But Blake does not desire such opacity in his
community. In a society of whites they cheat each other while Blake's
community assumes perfect solidarity.
However, unlike the community Blake tries to establish, Delany s na汀ative
is filled with opacity･ His narrative has undercurrent voices that betray
superficial descriptions. It is opaque for partly the same but mainly different
reason from that of slaves'language.
Traditionally, Delany was regarded as a dedicated emigrationist, whose
masculinity and militancy were conspicuous. But, recently, more and more
scholars have begun to pay attention to his complex character. The first of
those was Theodore Draper, who pointed out Delany's Hcontradictions and
dualities":
The consistently emigrationist portion of his life filled only about ten
years. After 1861 he went further and further away from the cause to
which he owes his fame, and for almost a quarter of a century he
represented reconciliation far more than emigration. His entire life was
filledwith contradictions and dualities. (3)
Based on Draper's indication, Tunde Adeleke develops his argument about
Delany's duality. He says, "the activists of the 1960S, in search of validation
and heroes in the past, embraced and extolled, to the almost total neglect and
obliteration oHDelany'S1 Other personalities and dispositions" 【69). According to
him, Delany was basically an integrationist, who "believed that America
possessed an inherently democratic and progressive political culture, which,
le托undisturbed, would result in universal 氏.eedom and equality" (90). That is
why, after an ardent emigrationistperiod, Once again he became an optimistic
integrationist, who had high hopeof the fruits of the Civil War. Delany was not
a hero who espoused one belief throughout his life but an intellectualmoving
through two, or more, positions･
Blake was written during the short emigrationist period, when Delany
temporarily left his basic position. Therefore, I believe, this novel is haunted by
duality, which undemines its seeming simplicity･ The purpose of this paper is
to examine the complexity of the novel and then of the author.
I will first fbcus on the contradictions in the novel and then examine why
Seki I A Divided Self:
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Isolation of black intellectuals in Bhke or the Huts oJAmerica
the narrative has such complexity, mainly emphasizing the roles of Blakeand
Delany as black intellectuals. In so doing, i would like to explore how the
DuBoisian "twoness''works in this novel.
1. From a "slave hero" to a `'black hero''
There is a considerable difference between Chapters,While in Chapter 1 the
differences among coloredpeople are often emphasized, their solidarityand
commonalityare foregrounded in Chapter 2.
1n the US it was often the case that mulattoes were slaveholders. In regard
to this, Blake is basically on the slaves'side. In short, he is a slave hero who
struggles for freedom of slaves, He fights forthe oppressed people, not for all
colored people. The author criticizes mulattoes, saying:
Shy of the blacks and fearful of whites, they go sneakng aboutwith
the countenance of a criminal, of one conscious of having done wrong to
his fellows. Spumed by the oneand despised by the other, theyare the
least happy of all the classes. 〔1 16)
Blake is a hero of slaves while he is still in the US.
But it is clear that such a situation goes against Delany's intention because
as long as he is a slave hero, Blake has to visit and instigate each community of
slaves around the country, which is far from launching organized insurrection.
Tbere are two problems. First, a meeting place of slaves is usually
somewhere hidden from whites such as smal1 hutsand clearings in forests. In
other words, they do not have public places they can use freelyand, what is
worse, communities of AmeriCamslaves are distant from each other. merefore,
it is hard for them to launch organized, not local, insurrections.
Second, Chapter 1 shows thereare differencesamOng coloredpeople in the
US･ Such complexity makes it difficult to judge who is on which side. Skin color
does not meananything, For example, while some mulattoes are freeand "hold
against the blacks and pure-blooded Negroes the strongest prejudice and
hatred" [1 16), there is an unlucky mulatto who is "stolen and now being taken
to Texas''【82). These episodes show the di打erence of skin colors does not
always mean the one between oppressors and oppressed. Moreover, it is
unlikelythat mulatto slave holders would approve the overthrow of the social
system･ They receive profits from it, which generates the gap between poor
】59
slaves and them.
To realize an ideal community, the me仇od Delany adopts is a simpli且cation
of the structure. In Cuba, there is no conflict between mulattoesand blacks.
Almostall non-whites make a communistic community. The public space for
them is provided by wealthy mulattoes,and they are required to bethe least
individualistic, Blake says:
The whites accept of nothing but that which promotes their interests
and happiness, socially, politically and religiously. They would discard a
religion, tear down a church, overthrow a government, or desert a
country, which did not enhance their freedom. In God's great and
righteous name,are we not willing to do the same? (258)
It is clear that, when he refers to interests and happiness, he does not
simply meanthose of each white person. The implication is that each white's
interestsand happiness are consistent with those of all whites. Therefore, the
interestsand happiness of colored peopleinCuba cannot - and should not - go
against those of the whole community. However, one can easily find the
underlying duality of this principle･ Blake insists on the necessity of
enhancement of blackinterests in light of white society. But it is clear that,inn
capitalistic white society, whites do not pursue theirinterests fortheir society.
They try to promote "their interests and happiness''on behalf of themselves
rather thantheir society. However, giving a fuse impression that whites pursue
the interests of their society, Blake suggests the mixture of capitalism and
communism as the economic creed for his community.
This strange suggestion is probably related to the change of Delany'Sview of
American society･ Befわre taking up an emigrationist stance, Delany thought
what wasindispensable for human equality was "equality to attainment lthat
is, accomplishments measured in productive and materialtermS)" (Adeleke 58).
He insisted that the economic gaps, rather than racial difference, between
whites and blacks generated the inequalityand therefore encouraged self-help
efforts of blacks･ But asAmericanSociety revealed there were other obstacles
between blacks and whites, which could not be solved only by the enhancement
of the fbmer's economic status, Delany tuned to a less capitalistic view. He
began to stress the importance of comprehensive ideas such as race. As is
showIl in Blake, thistype of racialgroup places emphasis onthe maintenance
of itself rather thanthe individual freedom of each member･Asa result, Delany
Seki 】 A Divided Self:
Isolation of black intellectuals in BLake or the Huts ofAmeTica
60
espoused a kind of capitalistic communism.
This seemingly communistic perspective makes it easier to embody an ideal
community of colored people in Cuba in仇is novel･ It enables Blake to gain not
scattering slave communities but one stable community of blacks (not literal
blacks but non-whites: Blake divides people mainly into two groups, and blacks
can be inclusive of non-whites). In this way, Blake becomes a …black hero,''who
has a stronger appeal than a "slave hero.''But at the same time, because of its
duality, many serious problems remain unsolved and are finally effaced from
the text in Chapter 2.
For example, what authorizes Blake as a leader is his superioritynot only in
his social status but also in wealth･ Blake is a son of a wealthy black
manufacturer, and this fact gives him authorityof a leader, as Robert Levine
Says:
What is noteworthy is how Maggie's reconciliation comes about:
through her recognition of BlakeTs family ties to "One of the wealthiest
and most refined black merchants in the West Indies" and through her
recognition that the great Placido, equally aristocratic, embraces the
plan. (206)
In short, Blake's leadership is justified mainly by his economic status that
has been attained through capitalism. This ammation of capitalism coexists
with the appreciation of communism in Chapter 2. This contradiction is related
to various problematic issues that underlie this novel. Iwill discuss such issues
in the fbllowing chapters.
2. Masculinity
Many critics point out Delany s emphasis on masculinity･ Paul Gilroy says,
"lDelany] was probably the first black thinker to make the argument that the
integrity of the race is primarily the integrity of its male heads of householdand
secondarily the integrity of the families over which they preside" (25). Reflecting
this position, "black masculinity" is highlighted in this novel. First, I would like
to examine why the separation from hiswife is so decisive for Blake that he
suddenly begins to tum against Mr. Franks.
It is obvious that what is crucial for Blake is the sale of his wife rather than
the separation from a family member. He leaves his father behind in Cuba, and
】61
the fわllowing remark reveals his disinterest in his child, if slightly.
"Should my boy be suddenly missed, and you find three notches cut
in the bark of the bigwillow tree, on the side away from your hut, then
give yourself no uneasiness; but if you don't find these notches in the
tree, then I know nothing about him. (3ト2)
Thus, We can say that me wife is a special person for Blake, and therefわre,
the loss of her is crucial. Of course, We should pay attention to the significance
of the sale of Maggie because other family members are not sold･ It goes
wi仙out saying that山e cmelty of slaveIy is most clearly visible in the trade or
slave bodies. But it is also important to note his explanation to his step-parents
about why he has detemined to get away:
Even was I to take the advice of the old people here, and become
reconciled to drag out a miserable life of degradation and bondage under
them, I would not bepermitted to do so by this man, who seeks every
opportunity to crush out my lingering manhood, and reduce my free
spirit to the submission of a slave. He cannot do it, I will not submit to it
…【29)
What he puts importance on is his "lingering manhood･" Here he is
concerned with neither human equality nor Maggie'S "womanhood." His
masculinity has primary importance. and probably because it damages Blake's
masculinity that another man is allowed to treat Maggie as he likes, the sale of
hiswife enrages him to that extent.
"rWlith a manlywi1r l83), Blake fights slavery that has taken his wife away,
It is likely that this emphasis on black masculinity renects the characteristic or
slavery, Slavery basically had a close connectionwith white masculinity･While
male slave oⅥlerS Were pemitted to abuse female slaves, sexual relationships
between white women and black slaves were strictly forbidden. Especially,
wives had to obey the domesticru1es that were to strengthen the masculine
system. It is true that they were on the side of abusers, but, unlike their
spouses, Wives had to tolerate the violations of the domestic mles by husbands.
Thus, in a sense, the fight between Blake and slavery can be compared to
the connict between black and white masculinity. Probably that is why Delany
emphasizes Blake's black masculinity in his attempt to carry out a revolution･
Seki J A Divided Self:
Isolation of black intellectuals in Blake or tfle HLLtS OfAmeTica
62
But, importantly, Delany's narrative has descriptions that undermine such a
structure of connict.
Mrs. Franks outwardly obeys her husband, but the following description
shows she inwardly feels anantipathy for her husband:
"And Henry is really gone?"with surprise againenquired Mrs. Franks.
"He is, my dear, and you appear to be quite inquisitive about it!''
remarked Franks as he thought he obseⅣed a concealed smile upon her
lips. 【48-9)
It would be an overstatement to say she is inclined towardsantislaveTy, but
her pleasure at seeing the damage to slavery, to the mascu出le System, is clearly
discernible, Like his white counterpart, Blake's masculine power is also
undem血ed by hiswife's attitude.When Blake tries to prevail on Maggie about the
cause of the black revolution, she "Smiledand sighed, but said no more on the
subject''(192). Obviously she is not convinced, Thismi1d disapprovalhighlights
the limit of Blake's power, which is not doubted byany other black person,
In this novel, wives tend to be silent behind their husbands. But that
silence is a key to destabilizing white and black masculinity and the social
systems they have supportedand are to support. Strangely, Delany casts doubt
on masculinity while he asserts its importance･
This attitude of Delany arises from two problems inherent in black
masculinity. First, black masculinity was not free from the dominance of white
masculinity. In other words, it was in a sense weakened by stronger white
masculinity. Maurice 0. Wal1ace says:
In DelaェⅣ's letter to Stanton, however, was an implicit avowal that
black masculinity only cohered in a white context. Judging "the
measures''of black men, in other words, "was a question of negotiating
between samenessand difference," as Hatt explains,allowing black men
manhood, butwithout disrupting the differentials of power, position, or
property accorded by race onthe socialor politicalclaims of (white male)
others. (71)
Probably Delany was aware of the fragility of black masculinityand could
not firmly believe in it, This awareness naturally made black masculinity
unstable.
Ⅰ63
This instability leads to the second problem･ Iwill take it up later by linking
it with the problem of an ethnographer's masculinity. My conclusion will be
that Delany tried to solve the instabilityby acquiring more stableand stronger
masculinity･
3. Family
ln this novel, the family plays an important role. First, Blake'S primary
object is the recovery of his family as Paul Gilroy says.2 Second, as is shown in
the narrator's explanation of how marriages help strengthen communities,
marriage, and eventually the family, is expected to unite members of a
community･ It is very important in constructing a perfect black community:
therefore, the scenes of marriages between members of Blake's community are
described in detail.
But those scenes reveal the probleminherent in marriages between slaves.
The second scene highlights it more clearly. It describes the marriage between
Montego and Abyssa, and the latter expresses a sense of discomfわrt against the
fact that a white priestwill marry them. Montego shares her discomfort and
admits that "the acts of the priests in performance of the marriage ceremony
were - not more sacred than if performed by a civil magistrate, or any other
person set apart by law for such purpose" (280). Nevertheless, in this novel a
marriage is apparently regarded as indispensable for construction of an ideal
community.
I think Delany could not find other ways to establish a black community
probably because he was basically a believer of Christianity and thought that
the "integrity of the race is primarily the integrity of its male heads of
household･" Therefore, though being aware of its problems, Delany highly
valued the family. Saidiya Hartman says, "the domestic is valued because it is
essential to managing laboring families, inculcating suitable ideas of settlement
and stability, and nurturing responsible and rational individuals" (156).
Hartman's remark refers to the situation of the postbellum period. But the
same would hold true for that of the antebellum period. Domesticityin slavery
always renected the desires of the dominant.
We must not overlook the striking similarity of Delany and Blake to the
dominant here. The fact that Delany 【Blake) needed "male heads of household" to
realize racialintegrity means the model family assumed by them was not so
different from a normative white family. Both Delany (Blake) and the dominant
Seki 】 A Divided Self:
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Isolation of black intellectuals in Blake or tfle Huts ofAmeTica
whites tried to use the familyinorder toinculcate their ideologiesand nurture
"responsibleand rationalindividualS･" In this regard, Delany'S (Blake'S) position
overlaps that of whitest This overlapping is signincant when we take into
consideration Delany and Blake's elitism and instabilityof their position it caused.
4･ Uncertainty about Blake
Delany obviously characterized Blake as a black hero, but, Contrary to this
clarity given by the author, Blake's position is o托en uncertain. In other words, I
Opaque language is frequently used to describe Blake,
He is called at once light and shadow･ He "declared that nothing short of an
unforeseen Providence should impede his progress in the spread of secret
organization among the slaves" (101)･ In short, he thinks his plan, in a sense,
follows Heaven's will while saying "I am - not with righteousness, but
wickedness" (103)I He is "a messenger of light and destruction,"and the latter
means that of Hoppression and ignorance" (101).
Here we can recognize that his position is always between two poles. Only
from such a position, he can destroy both oppression by whites and ignorance
of blacks･ This betweeness is discemible in his origin･ He is originally from
Cuba, but becomes entangled in the slaveⅣ in America. Therefわre, his problem
is limited neither to Cuba nor to the US･ Delany probably intended to illustrate
a situation common to both countries and claim the necessityof their solidarity
to fight against slavery, But because of the difference between the two countries
shown in this novel, We are likely to understand Blake as the one that is
neither Cuban nor American in the true sense of the termrather than the one
that can act on common ground.
This uncertaintyof the position leads to the uncertaintyof Blake's identity.
He is notwilling to talk about himself･ He says, "lknOw nothing about myself
worth telling -Yes･ Andy, Ⅰ've much to tell you; but not ofmyself …''(126). His
object is clearly shown in this novel, but in terms of his identity, the
descriptions tend to be obscure.
Chapter 1 shows a part of the reason why his identity is unstable･ He is
usually alone and in the US does not have any community to belong to. Of
course, it does not seem so strange because he must visit one community of
slaves a托er another･ But the fわllowing passage reveals Blake's tme isolation,
inexplicable by the fact that he has to keep traveling.
165
Alone and friendless,without a home, a fugitive from slavery, a child
of misfortune and outcast upon the world,floating on the cold surface of
chance, now in the midst ofa great city of opulence … 【101)
In spite of the many followers, he is "la]lone and friendless." I think this
isolation is not only Blake's but also Delanys. It is an unavoidable sense of
isolation for black intellectuals - especially those inAmerica･ Delany s elitism
doubtless sharpened this sense･ As one of the elite, who were supposed to lead
thepeople･ both Blake and Delany had to position themselves above ordinary
people: but, on the other hand, it was unallowable to assimilate into whites. As
I have stated, Delany shared many ideaswith whites: nevertheless, he often felt
isolated in the society of the dominant and had to look to the society of colored
people for a sense of community. In the next part, I would like to examine their
positions further, which brought about their isolation as well as their longing
for a perfect black community.
5. Isolation of intellectuals
One of the most distinctive characteristics of Blake is that this novel is
written in the third person and not a little part of it is spent on depicting
whites･ The depictions are not cursory; on the contrary, they reproduce in
detail the dialogues of whites and tell us about their feelings. We can easily
presume that it was written by aperson who was so familiarwith whites'inner
lives･ In a sense, unlike slaves, Delany was in a white world and had enough
knowledge to suⅣive it.
It is doubtless that this proximityto a white world and the distance from a
slave world caused a dimcult problem fわr Delany. In "Some Discourses on/of
the Divided Self: Lyric, Ethnography and Loneliness," Maria Damon discusses
isolation of ethnographers:
By transfbming the loneliness oHieldwork in a fわreign culture into
observation-oriented writing, the ethnographer attempts to re一
masculinize and whiten himself (conquering the feminizing and abject
conditions of loneliness and the subject position of the "other") through
producing text fわr consumption by his home culture that, though (until
recently) downplaying the ethnographer's consciousness, by implication
locates that consciousness as searching,perceptive and, through its very
Seki l A Divided Self:
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Isolation of black intellectuals in BLake oT- the Huts oJAmeTica
erasure, ultimately omniscient. (41)
Though the position of Blake and Delany is different from that of
ethnographers, We can find striking similarity between them. Both are half-
immersed in and half-detached from a specific community. Frequently Blake
acts almost like an ethnographer･ For example, he asks one question a托er
another to the slaves washing clothes on Little River:
"Who owns this place?"
…Mr. Crane, sir," she politely replied with a smile.
"How many slaves has he?"
"I don'0, some say five 'a six hundred."
"Do they all work on this place?"
"No, sir, he got two-three places･"
"How many on this place?"
"Oveh a hundred an'fifty." (7415)
It is of course clear that the author wants to show the readers a true
situation of slaves by providing details. But this dialogue reveals the fact that
Blake shares the sensibilityof ethnographers.While being close to them to the
extent that slaves do not show wariness against him, he is so distant血'om them
that he has to ask them many questions.
His eagemess to know about slaves does not necessarily mean the desire to
assimilate into them･ Maria Damon also says:
Self-estrangement (the split between "humanbeing" and scientist, the
literal distance between the individual and his home culture, and the
cognitive distance between the individual and his host culture日eads to
immersion in a di打erent culture, but rather than wholly heal that
estrangement, the ethnographer must maintain it in order to be both a
participant and an obseⅣer in that culture; he must never forget his
allegiance to his work, lest he "go native･" (38)
Blake needs a distance between slaves and him because he will be a leader,
not one or ordinaIY colored people, and has to teach, that is, pull up ignorant
people to his level･ He obviously wants to keep a distance from the "old
generation,… which Daddy Joe and Mommy Judy represent, and ignorant
】67
slaves.
The uncertainty of his identity is brought about bythis position of his. He
may be a member of colored people, but he is, or must be, distant from them to
some extent･ Of course, he is not a member of the white society though he
knows it well. In a sense, he is between black and white communities, or
between an Afhcanand anAmerican, which brings dualityinto the text.
He is light and shadow in仇e sense仇at he is噸ht fわr colored people and
shadow for whites･ DelarⅣ, who was in the position similar to Blake, obviously
had a divided self, which made him adopt two perspectives at once: whites'and
the oppressed coloredpeople'S. He could identifyneitherwith whites norwith
the oppressed. He was always between them, his self divided.
In the case of Frederick Douglass, We can easily discern his desire for
assimilation into the community of white abolitionists. He sets a white
abolitionist as the narrator of HeTVic Slaue･ This doubtlessly shows Douglass's
desire for identificationwith white abolitionistsand his conviction that he could
be a member of their community･What he assumed he gained through his
narrative was white masculinity, His work was clearly written for male white
readers･ By writing his version of an ethnographical work, he tried to
masculinize and whiten himself.
But Delanys implied readers are unclear, Probably he wrote this novelin
Order to edifythe oppressed colored people. However, most of slaves were
illiterate. Wasthis novel written, then, only for free blacks? I do not think so.
If Delany had written Blake in his integrationist period, it would have had a
simpler structure･ But it was wdttenina short emigrationist period, when he
was bitterly disappointedwithAmerica, It would have been impossible for him
to simply try to "re-masculinizeand whiten''himselfina white society,
Blake is a "black hero," who was once free, then a slave, and finally a
fugitive. Here it is implied that his blackness is inclusive of all statuses - free,
slave, and fugitive - and all colors except for white. But such inclusive
blackness canbe realized onlyinthe idealcommunity described in Chapter 2.
There were too many obstacles to define "blackness" clearly in the US.
In other words, Delany tried to evaderigid definition by imagining a kind of
paradise that would enable coloredpeople to overcome differences. It is this
paradise that Delany wanted to identifywith. This paradise, Cuba in Chapter 2,
is romanticized and idealized and seems to be monolithic; however, Delany's
underlying voice denies such perfect unity,What he describes in this novel is a
seemingly perfect communitythat has disturbing differenceswithinitself. This
Seki l A Divided Self:
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Isolation of black intellectuals in Blake or the Huts of America
attitude of Delany is, in a sense, similar to those of DuBois and Fanon. As Ross
Posnock indicates, they tried to "exceed categories" 【327)･ They imagined
creating the world where differences exist but none of them was essential. Only
in such a world, colored people would have the "chance to soar''above the HVeil
of Race" 【DuBois 365, 510), and their owl- ambivalence would cease to anguish
them･ In this sense, I think Delany anticipated the appearance of the black
intellectuals such as DuBois and Fanon.
Ⅳotes
1 Brent H･ Edwards, "Langston Hughes and the Futures of Diaspora." American
LiteraT7j HLsfoTV 19 【2007): 689171 1.
2 Tbe momentum of the book is supplied by the zeal with which its hero strives to
reconstruct and regenerate his family life･ This struggle is presented as absolutely
homologous with both the liberation of slaves and the regeneration of Africa … (26)
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