Dutchman by Amiri Baraka

Dutchman is a play by Amiri Baraka, an African-American writer. There are two main characters in Dutchman, Clay, twenty-year old black man and Lula, thirty-year old white woman. Lula and Clay met on the subway when Lula ate some apples. The gesture of Lula was seductive. We can see in this dialogue:

"Lula: (She gets one out of the bag for herself) Eating apples together is always the first step. Or walking up uninhabited Seventh Avenue in the twenties on weekends. (Bites and giggles, glancing at Clay and speaking in loose sing-song) Can you get involved... boy! Get us involved. Um-uh. (Mock seriousness) Would you like to get involved with men, Mister Man?"

She used that seductive and agressive gesture to manipulate the situation and dominate convesation with Clay. She said to Clay about Warren which provoked Clay and made Clay assumed that she is a friend of Warren.

Clay described as educated black man, or at least, he tried to look like educated black man. He wore suit and tie and read a book. It shows in this dialogue:

"Lula: Everything you say is wrong. (Mock smile)That’s what makes you so attractive. Ha. In that funny book jacket with all the buttons. (More animate, talking hold of his jacket) What’ve you got that jacket and tie on in all this heat for? And why’re you wearing a jacket and tie like that? Did your people ever burn witches or start revolutions over the price of tea? Boy, those narrow-shoulder clothes come from a tradition you ought to feel oppressed by. A three-button suit. What right do you have to be wearing a three-button suit and striped tie? Your grandfather was a slave, he didn’t do to Harvard."

In the end of the story, Lula stabbed Clay two times and thrown out Clay from the subway.  She also made other passangers, black or white, to get out from the Subway. The story end when a young black man entered the Subway in the next stop and Old Negro Conductor came.

This play wants to represent binary opposition between white and black. How black to be seen by white and how whiteto be seen by black. How white people make a stereotype to black, and how black people want to refuse that stereotype and get out from the oppression.

Works Cited

Baraka, A. (1964). Dutchman.

Baraka, A. (n.d.). Dutchman.