1. Jones’s first dream is of a man asking him if he would like to have “a little black dog with stiff black gold-tipped hair and sad eyes that looked something like a wire-haired terrier” (p 1). Jones then goes on to describes how the dog has “a piece of heavy stiff wire twisted about its neck,” and how it was able to break loose and the man proceeded to run and catch the dog again. I believe that the dog represents Jones. Dogs are messy and dogs need their masters to give them orders and groom them in order to be seen as acceptable and to be presented in society.

The second dream of Jones being beaten by the two white men is the first event of violence that victimizes Jones. This is the first time he feels helpless and in despair.

2. In addition to the racial divisions that the novel describes, Himes also focuses on skin color. Alice having lighter skin, uses that to her advantage and passes as a white woman. She …show more content…
A rare occurrence where there is not a hostile exchange between Bob and a white person is the small interaction between him and a pedestrian, “A well-dressed, slenderly built middle-aged white women stepped from the curb in the path of my car. I eased to a stop and waited for her to pass. She looked up; surprise was first in her eyes, then she gave a tentative, half-decided smile. I smiled in return, warm and friendly. It made all the difference in the world; the weights had gone out of my head” (p 38). The purpose of these small but positive exchanges is to demonstrate that not every white person a black person comes across is racist.

4. Himes brought light to the abuse African Americans went through during World War II when their race limited their chance of equality. Himes illustrated African American’s desire to protest racism. This is seen when Bob realizes he will never reach true equality. Himes also warned the black culture when Bob takes his girlfriend, Alice’s advice to “adjust themselves to the limit of their race” (p