If She Hollars, Let Them Know

Chester Himes, "If He Hollars, Let Him Go" is a novel that expresses the complexity of a black man amidst a time of racial tension.  The unpredictable outcome as a result of Bob’s unwarranted encounter with Madge induces a degree of suspense and mystery evoked through the false pretense of rape.  Bob states, “My eyes sought Madge’s warning.  Hers were panicky, trapped.  Neither of us breathed” (Himes 179).  Madge’s ability to exploit the gender-race card in her favor culminates to the suspense and power which her mere presence admonishes to Bob.  Moments later, Madge accuses Bob of rape, immediately conjuring a crowd of white saviors to the rescue.  The mobship which arises is parallel to the historic chains which have conditioned generational legacies of the master-slave mentality as well as the sponsorship against the “black monster;” who’s lust whether fantastical or true was castigated by lynching.

The power that Madge displays by simply provoking the sexual delicacies of certain white men through the origins of slavery is enough to inspire the masculinity for some at the expense of others. For instance, Bob states “I felt buck-naked and powerless, stripped of my manhood and black against the whole white world” (Himes 181). Madge brings down the entire history of slavery as she eviscerates Bob's identity and social status.  This event conveys the volatility and reality which plagued a black man in a white world. 

Although the anagnorisis of the story may vary, one possible assumption is when Bob runs from the authorities after being accused of rape and ponders on his situation.  Bob states “Then it smacked me, shook me to the core… I’d been instinctively scared of being caught with a white women screaming ‘Rape.’  Scared of the mob; scared of the violence; just scared because I was black and she was white; a trapped, cornered, physical fear” (Himes 187).  The grim possibilities which always lingered in Bob’s head manifested in reality causing his experience to penetrate his psychology. Through this affect he attained embodied knowledge triggered by his unconscious and instinctual response to adapt and survive.  Thus, culture becomes a biological component which imparts experiences and understanding that is biologized and felt as vividly as the fear of knowing one’s own death.  After the peripeteia occurs during the altercation scene with Madge, she grants him a much deeper understanding of himself and his tragedy amidst persecution. At this point the protagonist achieves a realization of himself as he confronts his fear of death or exile by challenging the historic current of violence, hatred, and oppression in face of what seems like inevitability.