The idea of California as an employment haven, free of discrimination, was not an uncommon tale for blacks in eastern America to hear at the time. This notion prompted massive migration to the West from other areas during the forties, but despite the slim shred of hope California was offering the oppressed and downtrodden, most of those chasing the dream found themselves disappointed. Himes uses Jones's failure to gain any real standing in work or in society to represent how generations of systematic oppression had made it nearly impossible for blacks to rise out of their subhuman caste by the 1940s.
America was certainly eager to cash in on the idea of the "American dream" for all people once it needed all hands on deck for war, but prior to the urgency of World War II it had been a dream specially reserved for the wealthy and/or white. Even during America's stint in combat, when minority groups experienced the most equality they had ever had, legislation such as Executive Order 8802 (Roosevelt's prohibition of racial discrimination in the national defense industry) was observed more in theory than in practice. WWII provided some blacks a narrow alleyway for socioeconomic advancement, particularly through defense manufacturing or armed service, but …show more content…
Upon its release in 1945, If He Hollers was criticized for its bitter tone and unhappy timeline, the protagonist’s clear lack of complacency to the system, and the unflinching way in which Himes called out the United States’ hypocrisy—complaints that only serve to validate Himes’s indication that America caters to whites and white feelings only, and challenges to those are always seen as threats to mainstream
America was certainly eager to cash in on the idea of the "American dream" for all people once it needed all hands on deck for war, but prior to the urgency of World War II it had been a dream specially reserved for the wealthy and/or white. Even during America's stint in combat, when minority groups experienced the most equality they had ever had, legislation such as Executive Order 8802 (Roosevelt's prohibition of racial discrimination in the national defense industry) was observed more in theory than in practice. WWII provided some blacks a narrow alleyway for socioeconomic advancement, particularly through defense manufacturing or armed service, but …show more content…
Upon its release in 1945, If He Hollers was criticized for its bitter tone and unhappy timeline, the protagonist’s clear lack of complacency to the system, and the unflinching way in which Himes called out the United States’ hypocrisy—complaints that only serve to validate Himes’s indication that America caters to whites and white feelings only, and challenges to those are always seen as threats to mainstream