Lindon Barrett\'s Insightful Review of Langston Hughes

Lindon Barrett's insightful review of Langston Hughes autobiography, The Big Sea, deals with the complex themes of homoeroticism, the feminine, and subjectivity in Hughes' autobiography. Barrett notes that Hughes delves immediately into the theme of homoeroticism, in recounting his encounter with his stark naked bunkmate. Further, Barrett argues that not only the bunkmate's initial bragging, but a later scene of rape help to subordinate the feminine within Hughes' autobiography.

Barrett delves into the homosociality of many of the scenes within The Big Sea, and notes that Hughes' "excessive figure of the feminine" (p. 396, Barrett) serves to cement questions about Hughes' sexuality

The subject of Barrett's review was the great American writer, Langston Hughes. Born in Missouri in 1902, Hughes wrote poetry, novels, short stories, and was deeply involved in jazz. His important works of poetry include The Weary Blues (1926), and the Collected Poems of Langston Hughes (1994), while important works of prose include Not Without Laughter (1930), and Good Morning, Revolution: Uncollected Social Protest Writings by Langston Hughes (1973). Hughes' work focuses largely on intriguing portrayals of black life in the America of the 1920s - 1960s.

Hughes was highly influential in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. He died in 1967 in New York City.

In his review, Barrett delves almost immediately into the theme of homoeroticism threaded throughout The Big Sea. Barrett notes that The Big Sea opens with the famous and compelling scene of Hughes throwing all his books over the side of the S.S. Malone, a symbol of "throwing a million bricks out of [his] heart" (p. 383, Barrett). Retiring below deck, Hughes encounters his bunkmate, George, who is stark naked, waving his "various appendages around" (p. 384, Barrett), and engaging in a great deal of heterosexual bragging. Interestingly, this heterosexual talk occurs in a clearly homoerotic situation.

Barrett rightly notes that Hughes' decision to place this decidedly homoerotic scene at the beginning of his autobiography contrasts sharply with his notable ability to maintain closed-mouthed about his sexual encounters. Barrett notes that the reader is very tempted to speculate about Hughes' sexuality at this point.

Barrett then delves into the subject of Holmes' subordination of the female presence in The Big Sea. Holmes' bunkmate brags that he will pay his overdue rent to his female landlord with what he is holding in his hand (his penis). Barrett notes that Hughes' bunkmate's bragging serves to subordinate the female "agent" in the bunkmate's boastful talk.

In recounting this, the bunkmate subordinates the female landlord by recasting the woman, who has economic power over him, in a subordinate position, based on the male "sex-right," as Barrett terms it. Barrett also notes an incident later in The Big Sea, where a young African prostitute is raped by thirty of the crewmen, observing that this incident also serves to subordinate the feminine presence in Hughes' autobiography.

Notably, the gang rape and the dismissal of the female landlord are decidedly homoerotic. In these scenes naked man perform for each other, and in doing so they assert their masculine dominance over the feminine.

Barrett notes the prevalence of powerful scenes in the novel that are devoted to male homosociality. In addition to the dismissal of the bunkmate's landlady, and the gang rape of the African girl by thirty crew members, the shooting of Gerta also serves as an example of male homosociality.

In this scene, a local brew-master brutally shoots a young German housekeeper, Gerta, in his employ. The brew master was in love with Gerta, and convinced that she was having a sexual affair with Langston Hughes, shoots her in a jealous rage.

Gerta manages to survive the brutal attack, but she is forever scarred by the gunshots, a life-long reminder of the brew master's perceived masculine perogative.

Barrett notes that the traditional masculine prerogative to possess a woman, combined with a racial or ethnic prerogative, provides the true basis of the brew master's brutal and violent actions. The homosociality of Gerta's shooting involves the "male sex-right," or the right to possess the woman. In other words, the brew master's jealous rage is motivated not only by his perception that his masculine right to possess a woman was denied, but his jealous fever is increased by his perception that the woman he desired chose to have a sexual relationship with a black man.