Power, Masculinity, and Sexuality: A Need to be in Control
“Going to Meet the Man” is about a man named Jesse, who believes he is a god-fearing man in his community. Jesse is a middle aged white man in civil-rights era Southern United States. He is a Deputy Sheriff of his town, just like his Father was. Jesse has grown up during a time when white men are in control of black men. When Jesse was just a child, he witnessed a lynching that he will never forget. Witnessing this event and growing up in a racist area has caused Jesse to be a man who needs power, strong masculinity, and hypersexuality over the African American race.
The short story opens with Jesse trying to have sex with his wife. With his inability to get an erection, he gets …show more content…
“And he wasn’t old enough yet to have any trouble getting it up—He was only forty-two. (Baldwin, 2512) He lies in bed trying to justify himself on why he can not perform in bed and he starts talking about what happened in a prison cell after a protest. He says that Big Jim C. and some of the other boys had to beat up a ringleader of a civil rights group. As he talks about the beating, he describes it in a sexualized manor. “He was lying on the ground jerking and moaning.” (Baldwin, 2513) Which tells the reader that Jesse is sexualizing the man even in the midst of him being beaten. Jesse sees that his victim has a strong masculine energy that acts as both fascination and rage. “His mouth felt dry and his throat was as rough as sandpaper; as he talked, he began to hurt all over with that peculiar excitement which refused to be released.” (Baldwin, 2514) Him beating a man in the state of submission gives Jesse a sense of arousal. This sexualizing continues as Jesse proceeds to repeatedly stick the man with a cattle prod, drawing a similarity with the act of sexual intercourse. “he kept prodding the boy, sweat pouring from beneath the helmet had had not yet taken off.” (Baldwin, 2514) The beating escalates with a screaming explosion from Jesse, scolding the boy and says “You lucky we pump some white blood into you every once in a while—your …show more content…
He describes it like he’s describing an animal fixing to be sacrificed. “and black as an African jungle cat, and naked.” (Baldwin, 2521) When one of his father’s friends reveals a knife, it is then that Jesse begins to take notice of the power, masculinity, and sexualized manner of the mob. As the man takes out the blade, Jesse states he “wished he could be that man. It was a long, bright knife and the sun seemed to catch it, to play with it, to caress it—it was brighter than the fire.” (Baldwin,
“Going to Meet the Man” is about a man named Jesse, who believes he is a god-fearing man in his community. Jesse is a middle aged white man in civil-rights era Southern United States. He is a Deputy Sheriff of his town, just like his Father was. Jesse has grown up during a time when white men are in control of black men. When Jesse was just a child, he witnessed a lynching that he will never forget. Witnessing this event and growing up in a racist area has caused Jesse to be a man who needs power, strong masculinity, and hypersexuality over the African American race.
The short story opens with Jesse trying to have sex with his wife. With his inability to get an erection, he gets …show more content…
“And he wasn’t old enough yet to have any trouble getting it up—He was only forty-two. (Baldwin, 2512) He lies in bed trying to justify himself on why he can not perform in bed and he starts talking about what happened in a prison cell after a protest. He says that Big Jim C. and some of the other boys had to beat up a ringleader of a civil rights group. As he talks about the beating, he describes it in a sexualized manor. “He was lying on the ground jerking and moaning.” (Baldwin, 2513) Which tells the reader that Jesse is sexualizing the man even in the midst of him being beaten. Jesse sees that his victim has a strong masculine energy that acts as both fascination and rage. “His mouth felt dry and his throat was as rough as sandpaper; as he talked, he began to hurt all over with that peculiar excitement which refused to be released.” (Baldwin, 2514) Him beating a man in the state of submission gives Jesse a sense of arousal. This sexualizing continues as Jesse proceeds to repeatedly stick the man with a cattle prod, drawing a similarity with the act of sexual intercourse. “he kept prodding the boy, sweat pouring from beneath the helmet had had not yet taken off.” (Baldwin, 2514) The beating escalates with a screaming explosion from Jesse, scolding the boy and says “You lucky we pump some white blood into you every once in a while—your …show more content…
He describes it like he’s describing an animal fixing to be sacrificed. “and black as an African jungle cat, and naked.” (Baldwin, 2521) When one of his father’s friends reveals a knife, it is then that Jesse begins to take notice of the power, masculinity, and sexualized manner of the mob. As the man takes out the blade, Jesse states he “wished he could be that man. It was a long, bright knife and the sun seemed to catch it, to play with it, to caress it—it was brighter than the fire.” (Baldwin,