White Rat

Allison S Curseen113 Comments

The short fiction story “White Rat”, by Gayl Jones, was published in 1977. It follows a light-skinned African-American, known only as “White Rat”, his wife, Maggie, and Little Henry, the first child of White Rat and Maggie born with club-foot. Due to White Rat’s light skin, he is often mistaken for a white person; however, he never chooses to take advantage of this, instead sticking with his family roots. After having their first child together, Maggie runs away with J. T. on account of White Rat’s rampant alcoholism, leaving Little Henry with him in hopes that the responsibility of raising him will make White Rat stop drinking, which works. Two months later, White Rat finds Maggie abandoned by J. T., who left after impregnating her. White Rat takes her home and expresses how he would be willing to raise the child along with Little Henry.

The text begins in the present but flashes back two months in order to show how White Rat’s alcoholism inhibited his ability to care for his family; his visit to a white bar and subsequent monologue reveals how he believes that his son’s disability is God’s curse upon his family due to him renouncing his priesthood and breaking his vow of celibacy. It then flashes forward two months from the present and reveals how White Rat has not seen any sign of a growing baby in Maggie. The text heavily focuses on the perspective of a white-passing black man.

I was compelled by the heavy focus on family ties in the narrative, as White Rat constantly emphasizes that his ancestors are African-American and repeatedly refuses to use his light skin to pass as white. His initial blame of Maggie for Henry’s club-foot serves to develop his character, as him seeing it as a curse on his line causes him to feel guilt, which is a major part in him quitting drinking to raise Henry.

113 Comments

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