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Part 1, Chapter 27
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in James, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Speech, Performance, and Willful Ignorance
Identity, Narrative, and Agency
Racism, Dehumanization, and Hypocrisy
Innocence vs. Disillusionment
Family, Alliance, and Loyalty
Summary
Analysis
Jim accompanies the Virginia Minstrels to their camp outside of town. A trombonist named Cassidy gives Jim some coffee and speaks with him in an approximation of slave dialect, as if he is practicing. Confused, Jim asks Emmett what work he wants him to do. Emmett claims that he has hired Jim—instead of purchasing him—to sing when the time comes. He and the other men are opposed to slavery, though they are not actively seeking to abolish it.
Cassidy’s performance of slave dialect—which is itself a performance designed to satisfy white expectations of Black people—is extremely ironic. Emmett’s claim that Jim is his employee rather than his slave sounds too good to be true, highlighting again how Jim’s experiences have forced him to move through life carefully and with great suspicion. It is possible that Emmett thinks treating Jim as an equal will make him more loyal, but his ulterior motives are not yet clear.
Themes
Cassidy retrieves his trombone and begins teaching Jim some of the minstrels’ songs, like “Ole Dan Tucker” and “The Blue-Tail Fly.” The lyrics are written in a rough approximation of slave diction, and Jim sings along with the chorus. He does not believe that Emmett has hired him, as he witnessed Wiley sign a bill of sale. Another man gives Jim a suit so he will match the rest of the company, and he is allowed to change in private. Cassidy helps Jim with his tie, and Emmett approves.
All of Emmett’s songs are written in slave dialect, suggesting that the purpose of the minstrels’ performances is to emulate—and probably mock—Black people. This alone is enough to cast doubt on Emmett’s claim that he has hired Jim as an employee, as is the bill of sale, which certifies that Jim legally belongs to Emmett.
Themes
