The Ways of White Folks is a collection of fourteen short stories by Langston Hughes, published in 1934. Hughes wrote the book during a year he spent living in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. The collection addresses multiple dimensions of racial issues, focusing specifically on the unbalanced yet interdependent power dynamics between Black and White people. According to Hughes, the short stories are inspired either by his own lived experiences or those of others he encountered.
Background
He finished the book in the year he spent in Carmel, California, immediately upon return from an extended trip to Russia. While working, he primarily lived in a cottage, fondly known as “Ennesfree.” The cottage was provided by Noel Sullivan, one of several of Hughes’ patrons.
Hughes’ stay in Carmel is marked by notable sense of deep community connection and sustenance. In a letter to close friends, Matt and Evelyn "Nebby" Crawford, he laments: "A few months ago I was worried about being undernourished in Tashkent. Now, I['m] worried about being over-nourished in Carmel."
As for his career, the time between 1933 and 1934 spent in Carmel is considered by Hughes to be the first extended amount of time that he could stay in one community and devote himself to his craft. He worked ten to twelve hours each day, completing at least one story or article each week.
Although the book is his first collection of short stories, several of the works included in The Ways of White Folks were originally printed in other publications. These publications include Esquire, The American Mercury, Scribner’s, Opportunity, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Debate, and Abbott’s Monthly.
Contents
The collection consists of 14 short stories:
I. “Cora Unashamed” is the first story within the collection. The narrative details Cora Jenkins’ life as one of the only Black persons in a rural-American town. The short story explores themes of societal discrimination based on race, class, and sex.
II. “Slave on the Block” is the second story within the collection, a tongue-in-cheek exploration of the Carraways, a married White artist couple, and the reductive relationship they have with Luther and Mattie, their Black employees. The short story was originally published in the September 1933 edition of Scribner’s Magazine.
III. “Home” is the third story within the collection, detailing the return of talented violinist Roy Williams to his hometown of Hopkinsville, Missouri. The work was originally published under the name “The Folks at Home” in the May 1934 edition of Esquire.
IV. “Passing” is the fourth story within the collection. The narrative is delivered by Jack through a letter to his mother, where he reveals the complex experience of passing as White, despite identifying as Black.
V. “A Good Job Done” is the fifth story within the collection. The story explores the occupation of a young man working for a well-off Mr. Lloyd, and the conditions that led to the end of the job. The short work was originally published in the April 1934 edition of Esquire Magazine.
VI. “Rejuvenation Through Joy” is the sixth story within the collection. The narrative details the mayhem of con-man Eugene Lesche and his jazz-themed soul colony, created to help people achieve spiritual enlightenment. The work comments on the African primitivist aesthetic, qualifying previous historical focuses of the lens, while still advocating for its relevance.
VII. “The Blues I’m Playing” is the seventh story within the collection. The work details the patronage relationship between Osceola Jones, a young Black pianist, and her patron, Mrs. Ellsworth. The short story was originally published in the May 1934 edition of Scribner’s Magazine.
VIII. “Red-Headed Baby” is the eighth story within the collection. The story recounts consequences of Mister Clarence's, a white seaman, return to a small town on the coast of Florida to visit a former lover, a biracial Betsy.
IX. “Poor Little Black Fellow” is the ninth story within the collection, describing the life of Arnie, a Black orphan left in the care of the White upper-class Pemberton couple. The story explores Arnie’s isolation as the only Black member of his New England community, and his experience abroad searching for connection.
X. “Little Dog” is the tenth story within the collection, detailing the lives of the lonely Miss Briggs, her little white dog Flips, and the new Black janitor, Joe.
XI. “Berry” is the eleventh story within the collection. The story focuses on Millberry Jones', a young Black man, time working for sanatorium for disabled children.