Only Man On Liberty Street Symbolism

“The Only Man on Liberty Street” written by William Melvin Kelley is a heartfelt story about a white southern gentleman, Maynard Herder, living in the south just after the Civil War. He is torn between the life he wants to live and the life society tells him he needs to live. His black mistress, Josie, lives on Liberty Street with their daughter, Jennie. While it is acceptable for him to visit her on Liberty Street, it is unacceptable for him to live there. When Maynard decides to live with Josie, Kelley uses many symbolisms (such as a carpet bag, a pink envelope, and a brown doll) throughout the story to show the different stages Maynard has to go through that come along with that decision. Kelley is an African American writer who wrote “The Only Man on Liberty Street” in 1956. He wrote many stories about the African American culture. In “The Only Man on …show more content…
The use of the carpet bag, the pink envelope, and the brown ragdoll in the story tell us how Maynard feels throughout the story. The carpetbag show us that he is done living separately from Josie and Jennie. He wants to make a life with them. He is determined to stay with Josie and Jennie forever. When Maynard’s wife stops by with the pink envelope, the seed is planted in his head that perhaps it may not be a good idea. The fact that the envelope is pink shows that the letter is from her desk and the threat it contains is clearly from Maynard’s wife and no one else. She is showing her power over Josie and that she can make bad things happen. Later on in the story when the white men use the brown ragdoll to threaten harm to Josie and Jennie, he finally sees that he must go back to his wife. He alone cannot change the world and staying with Josie and Jennie will only bring harm to them. It is a very difficult decision for Maynard to make and while his decision is not one that he likes, it is the one that will keep Josie and Jennie safe and it is the best