Dutchman (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Amiri Baraka
- First Published: 1964
- Type of Work: Play
- Type of Plot: Political
- Time of Work: The early 1960’s
- Setting: New York City
- Genres: Social realism, Drama, Mythological literature
- Subjects: African Americans, 1960’s, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Racism, Sex or sexuality, Murder or homicide, New York City, Prejudices or antipathies, Violence, Liberalism, Subways
- Locales: New York, NY
Characters Discussed
Clay, a twenty-year-old, middle-class black man, a college-trained intellectual from New Jersey. He wears a three-button Ivy League suit and tie and passes time by reading a newspaper. He appears to be in control of himself and his environment, amenably aware of sex but not of race, as evidenced when a white woman enters a subway car and coquettishly sits down beside him. He is both embarrassed and fascinated by the woman. Clay is pigeonholed by the woman as being the assimilated African American who wants to pretend that people cannot see his blackness and...
[The entire page is 858 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
