Smoke Lillies By Frank Eugent Analysis

Richard Bruce Nugent’s “Smoke, Lilies, and Jade,” shows how a young man, is in the process of finding his identity. Alex, was on a journey to find his independence, as it came with many complications. During the 1920s, people were struggling on daily basis to find themselves and meet ends meet. For Alex, it was difficult trying to find the right soul mate, and have everyone in the community accept him for the way he was. Being black in the 1920s meant that there was many responsibilities placed on someone. Since people looked at African Americans different, they were always considered as outsiders to others. Even though slavery was not going on at the time, there was still racial discrimination for African Americans. A way the African American community became close to one another was by establishing relationships with each other. People relied on each other for moral and emotional support. They faced …show more content…
Everything he experienced with Adrian won him over, however, he did not know if it was acceptable or not. Even though he feel in love with Adrian, Alex also loved someone else. Nugent states that “Beauty could make him believe in Buddha... or imps... and no one else could do that..that is no one but Melva...but he was in love with Melva” (82). One can see that Alex wants to show traditional heterosexual traits as well as homosexual traits also. This conflict shaped Alex’s life because he was confused on being accepted by the people in his community or going against what people may think of him and the life he chooses to live. Part of him wanted to break free and follow his heart but on the other hand, he refused to get judged by people. Some may say that he should do what it best for him and not focus on the negative opinions of people. However, people may shame him for being an African American who has bisexual tendencies and not wanting to follow the norms of