Students
Here are some thoughts on Little Scarlet leading up to the final.
Concentrate your studying on Easy. Think about how his life shaped him, and how - because of the riots - life was putting him through even more changes. The issue of race - Easy was a Black man in the world run by white people - hangs over the whole book. The story takes places in the aftermath of the Watts Riots, when many people were so angry and fed up that they showed their frustration and rage in the streets. Things were changing in America, and those riots were part of it.
To start, consider the context that shapes this book. The Watts Riots changed the shape of urban America. Before the time, the oppressive, racist status quo had not been effectively challenged. The Watts Riots were a head-on statement to the world: things must change! The actions that all the characters in the book take were shaped by their reaction to what had just happened: Los Angeles was was in a state of shock; no one knew what would happen next.
The rebellion in Watts marked the beginning of the Black pride movement. It marked a huge step forward for Black people around the country. It was a major in the fight for justice and equality that is still going on today. On a local level, the riots meant that the old ways weren't going to suffice. Until then, the needs of non-white people could be shoved to the side. This approach to justice and equality was not going to work any longer.
The author, Walter Mosley, imagined this story as a way of humanizing the landscape. He didn’t invent characters who always behaved correctly, nor did he write stories where everything works out right for everyone. Instead, he’s tried to write a story in which normal people were suddenly trying to figure out how to act in extraordinary times. One of the things that I like best about this story is that everyone knew that things had to change, but no one really knew what was going to work.
Easy Rawlins always tried to protect the people who needed to be protected - and in his world, that mainly meant Black people. However, in Little Scarlet, Easy himself was going through some big changes. He tells the reader about his process, about how little by little he was moving into a future that would operate under new rules. Sometimes - as with his friendship with Suggs - he was surprised at himself.
When you think (or write, if the question calls for it) about Easy, you must consider how much the riots have impacted his sense of himself and the possibilities he sees in the world around him.
What things helped make Easy different from other characters?
What things helped make Easy different from other characters?
a. He was an orphan who was strong enough to survive
b. He served in the army. This allowed him to get out in the world, rather than just leaving him stuck in the world he was raised in. He traveled through Europe (which allowed him to see and be in contact with people who didn’t treat him like white America treated him). He proved himself in combat - he felt he could stand up against anyone. He killed white people in the war (they were Germans, but still, that took away that sense that all white people would always be above him). And when he came back from the war, he expected to find a world that would treat him differently than the one he left behind. That may have been wrong - he still was treated badly - but his believed he deserved better.
c. He went to work as a janitor and as a private eye, and he was able to buy property. He hid his ownership of the property, but little by little he was becoming prosperous. He never wanted to feel that he didn’t know where his next meal came from.
d. He was determined to protect the two children that came to him and to make sure that the three of them (four, counting Bonnie) would be safe and strong.
e. He was very careful around white people (particularly the police).
f. Although he was self-educated, Easy was well-read and used his brains.
g. He stood up for Black people when he felt they were being attacked by police or by racist whites. He was particularly fierce when it came to standing up for Black women, as this story shows (Harold was killing Black women who’d slept with white men, which made Easy crazy with anger).
Why was Easy so hard on Mrs. Ostenberg, Harold’s mother?
Because she was a Black woman who was passing - she looked white, and she refused to admit she was Black. The Watts Riots was the beginning of the Black pride movement. After that week in August ’65, the idea that it was ok to “sneak” into white society by denying Black heritage was looked at as “selling out.” More than that, when it came down to making a choice - forced by the fact that she had a Black son - she sold out her son (and tried to make him believe that Honey May was his mother).
Because she was a Black woman who was passing - she looked white, and she refused to admit she was Black. The Watts Riots was the beginning of the Black pride movement. After that week in August ’65, the idea that it was ok to “sneak” into white society by denying Black heritage was looked at as “selling out.” More than that, when it came down to making a choice - forced by the fact that she had a Black son - she sold out her son (and tried to make him believe that Honey May was his mother).
Important chapters in the book.
I’ve made a few comments about them, but also I’ve grouped them together so that the information won’t be so hard to find.
a. 3-6: these contain Easy’s wonder at how he was dealing with the police - he didn’t really know what how he was going to react, but something inside him had changed.
Also, these chapters have his interactions with Marianne. The exchanges they have are a good indicator of how everyday life has been changed by the upheaval. The connection that Easy and Marianne have is one way of looking at what might be possible between Blacks and poor whites, as they begin to cross the racial barriers that divided them before.
b. IMPT.12: this chapter has the scene where Easy sits Ada Masters down and explains how the world works.
c. 7, 8, 26, 27 family
d. 9 The neighborhood talks at Trini’s cafe
e. 13 (More on Easy and Marianne)
f. 15, 26, 33, 38, 39, 45, 49 Suggs chapters - check all of them out, because it shows Easy’s attitudes toward the cops, but also how his relationship with Suggs is progressing. in 26 her tells Suggs that Harold did the murders (and the two of them make a list of the women they think that H has killed)
g. 17 Easy talks with Mouse about women (the author makes sure that he doesn’t allow Easy to treat women badly.
h. 18 Easy shows how his heart is moved when he observes people being kind to each other (Tina kissed Geneva’s forehead when she’s looking out for her in the Sanatorium) Also, in this chapter Tina tells Easy about how the white man Geneva’s father worked for abused her)
j. 20-21. Easy has his first talk with Peter Rhone: this is impt because it’s all part of the process Easy is going through. He can’t believe a white guy would drive into the ghetto during a riot to save a woman he loved. Also he tells Rhone that he can’t trust the police (a valuable lesson because most whites don’t understand how the cops operate).
k. 40, 41, 42, 43: these chapters concern easy and Ms. Ostenberg, Harold’s mother. 42 in particular is important because it’s where he talks to Ms. O about her self-hatred at being Black. In 43 Honey May talks about Harold as a child. She is good hearted but all her good intentions helped turn Harold into a murderer.
l. 44-45 Benita’s suicide is discussed here. she goes and stays at Easy’s house
m. 47. In this chapter, Jewelle says something important when Easy tells her about Harold’s desire to kill Black women. “You’d think that people
would have enough trouble making the rent with all the shooting and burning…”
n. In this chapter things start to get wrapped up -
o. 49 IMPT CHAPTER: this is where Easy realizes he like Suggs