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Part 1, Chapter 29
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 feels absurd as he and the other men march down the town’s main street, singing along to Emmett’s songs. Appearing to the gathered townsfolk as a white man painted Black, Jim finds the white citizens make eye contact with him, as if seeking to “share this moment of mocking me, mocking darkies, laughing at the poor slaves.” One woman seems to admire him specifically. The minstrels enter the auditorium and perform more songs. Jim learns the simple choruses quickly, but he is disturbed the communal white enthusiasm. He reminds himself that he is fooling them. When the show is over, a white woman (Polly) approaches Jim, and he has never been “more frightened by a creature, human or otherwise.”
Under the guise of whiteness approximating Blackness, Jim is granted access to a new kind of interaction with white society. He does not enjoy this inclusion because, unbeknownst to them, he does not share in their enthusiastic mockery of Black people. While Jim tries to take comfort in deceiving them, this performance is also uniquely dangerous, as Jim is a Black man in an exclusively white space. His fear of Polly is rooted in the knowledge that, if he is discovered speaking to a white woman, he will likely be killed.
Themes
Polly tries to flirt with Jim. Her father compliments Jim’s singing but insists his daughter will not be taking up with “show-bizness folks.” He is amazed by the authenticity of Jim’s hair, which Emmett claims is a wig. Polly’s father tells Emmett that none of them could pass for real slaves, claiming he can smell a Black person a half mile away. Jim leaves quickly, noting that Norman is also terrified. Emmett recognizes the danger of Jim being discovered, but he seems amused by the prospect. Jim reflects on the anxiety and anger he felt when Polly’s father touched his hair and his complicated feelings about Emmett, who surely will not let him leave the minstrels after paying 200 dollars for him.
Polly’s interest in Jim places him in significant danger. Polly’s father’s comments about the authenticity of Jim’s appearance hints that his disguise is not as convincing as he hoped. As a white man, Emmett does not seem to grasp the full implications of Jim being discovered—only Norman, the only other Black man, shares Jim’s fear. Jim views his anxiety and anger as luxuries, suggesting that his sense of autonomy is getting stronger, as he no longer feels the need to suppress such emotions. Jim’s musings about his strange relationship to Emmett foreshadow future conflict.
Themes
