Claude Brown's "Manchild in the Promised Land": meaning and analysis

¶ … Claude Brown's Manchild in the Promised Land

Introduction and Title will summarize and analyze various aspects of Claude Brown's autobiographical novel Manchild in the Promised Land (New York: Touchstone, 1999) 415 pp. The meaning and significance of the title, as I see it, is that when the main character, Claude, (often called "Sonny" or "Sonny Boy") comes with his family from the South to the "Promised Land" of New York City, life is so rough that he is forced to grow up fast and become a man when he is still a child. The first word of the title, "Manchild" is a combination of the words "man" and "child." From Claude's descriptions of growing up as an African-American child in Harlem, New York; associating with friends who are tough themselves; attending reform schools; and constantly being exposed to drugs, alcohol, and violence, Claude feels like a child who had had manhood forced upon him, in very unpleasant ways.

Summary

Claude's family has moved from the South to New York City. They, like many Southern blacks then, hope for more opportunity. Claude's Harlem childhood, though, is filled with violence, arrests, guns, knives, drugs, and alcohol. He turns into a juvenile delinquent. Claude wants to better himself, but feels conflicted between being the "coolest cat" in Harlem (or reform school) and escaping Harlem. From11, Claude attends Wiltwyck and Warwick. He receives encouragement from Wiltwick's director Mr. Papanek, and imagines life outside Harlem. He keeps getting pulled back in, though, by Harlem's exciting lure. Finally, after seeing friends killed and other friends' lives ruined, Claude finds strength to leave Harlem.

Claude Brown's Purpose in Writing this Book

One never knows another person's purpose for writing a book, especially an autobiography, but it seems Claude may have had three purposes: (1) to tell his life story for others' entertainment (it is very interesting, and sometimes funny); (2) to show the Harlem lifestyle of young African-Americans, and how hard it is to escape Harlem and make something of oneself; and (3), to make sense of his experiences in his own mind. Claude probably hoped to make money too (who wouldn't?) but I doubt that was his main purpose. I think his main overall purpose was to describe and critique the life he had led growing up in Harlem.

Point-of-View: First Person

Since this is Claude's life story, even if it is a fictionalized account, it is only natural that he choose a first person ("I, Claude") point-of-view. Everything happens to him or around him, and we see everything through Claude's eyes I think first person viewpoint ("I") is therefore the best point-of-view for this book. The viewpoint makes Claude's thoughts more immediate and accessible to readers, and also to show Claude's intelligence, sense of humor, personality, and sometimes his cynicism.

Structure

The structure is both cyclical (it starts with his childhood, getting shot and going to the hospital, and also ends with his childhood (memories of sitting on the front stoop with Carole and not wanting to go back inside because the streets are so exciting and interesting)) and cumulative (that is, the non-chronological bits and pieces of his life add up in the end to his adult decision to leave Harlem. There are also "stories within stories," lots of them. Mainly, he cuts back and forth in space and time, first between home and the streets (early in the book) and later between Harlem and reform schools (later in the book). Sometimes it is even more intricate structurally: home vs. streets vs. school vs. jail, cutting back and forth between three or four places. The book is definitely not chronological, though it does start when Claude is very young and end when he is grown. I think the "either/or" narrative structure (home or the streets; inside or outside Harlem, etc.) creates suspense and tension, and interest in what will happen next. It also lays the groundwork for the culmination of his experiences and decision to leave Harlem.

Style

The style of the book is a combination of exposition, description, narration, and dialogue. Mostly is written in standard American English,