He Don T Plant Cotton Analysis

What do people when their are backed against the wall. In Powers’ “He Don’t Plant Cotton” one snowy night in a lounge three workers had to carter and serve a crowd of over zealous and disrespectful white people. Through this we see how they deal with stress of work. Dodo, the bartender and a piano player, talks about them when his back turned, Baby, the drummer and waiter, does what they tell him to do with a smile, and Libby, the singer, plays dumb. Or In the end quit. The story demonstrates how people dealt stress in a time of oppression and racism. How does stress affect Dodo. Who is Dodo? He is a short hunchback man with pride who plays the piano before the customers arrive then he puts on his white coat ready to serve people drinks. Dodo wants to play the piano in front of everyone, but no ones wants to see him play because he is a short disgusting man this why he plays piano before everyone. Even though he is a good piano player because he can
play in harmony with baby. “Here was a man, midgett, hunchbacked, black, and proud - mostly all back and music.” He deals with the stress by talking about them. This says a lot about him because his white coat represents a white flag of surrender, yet Dodo believes that the crowd has surrendered itself to the black workers of the lounge. It is said that Dodo hates white, but on this night Dodo pities and enjoys them seen in this quote, “Ordinary he was capable only of hating them. Now he had risen to great unfamiliar height and was actually enjoying them.”, because the white crowd does not see what is going on as Libby and Baby play with the white crowd. By pitting the crowd he gets feels superiority fueling his pride. “Surprised at this capacity in himself, yet proud he could feel this way,“ Dodo represents a person who reads between the lines and comes to a false conclusion or claim where they come out ahead. Baby deals stress with a smile. Baby is a veteran drummer who been all across the northeast playing drums where people did not think much of his skills. Baby wants to stays at lounge as the longs possible, because he does not respawn to the constant racist comment and singing part from Old Man River as he serve the people such as “ My, it was good to see that black boy all sweatin’ and perspirin’ that way” and ”Tote that bar! Lift that bale! Git a little drunk” All Baby did is “grimaced in torment and did his best to look like ol’ Uncle Tom out snatchin’ cotton”, he just wants to work. He sees no point in making trouble like Libby or being delusionally like Dodo, but drinking does help a little a bit. The reason why he stays and take the abuse is because of his true passion which is playing the drums. If this means being a monkey and wearing a monkey suit he will do it. He is the one who sacrifice for his art. Libby is the most active in dealing with her stress.
Libby is the beautiful young lady from down south in New Orleans who plays the piano and sings. When Libby sit at the piano and sings men are stricken with lust and they began to lose minds as drink,and some are so bold they touch her. “He drained his drink and pushed closer the to the piano so as to brush Libby’s left hand with the front of first trousers.” They also want her sing to old racist songs like Old Man River. Liddy decide to play with them by acting like she do know songs, refusing to play them, and playing other songs. “Can you play ‘Hot Lips’?’ He was the real American boy. “Don’t know it,” libby lied.Libby wear a red dress, and this symbolize her quite will because red means strength, determined, and danger. Libby is the only one bold enough to face the crowd head on, and by doing this she put herself in danger. For most part Libby does not have a reason to stay she is just there to look good and sing. Libby is the person who have nothing to
lose. Their other option is to quit. Libby a person that had nothing to lose, so first was to break under the stress and leave. When libby did she said, “I won’t change,”, Liddy was not going to change like Baby and Dodo just so she can stay at the lounge. When heard Baby and Dodo, Baby put up his drum and Dodo took off his white coat. This is a metaphor for Baby taking his soul back and Dodo stop surrendering. They are now free to do whatever they want. The stress of work and racism are two that are hard to with. Working with a false smile is how some get through the day, some the delusion of getting out ahead, or by making fun. There are sometimes where people just quit.