Arrangement in Black and White is a short story by Dorothy Parker. The story tells the tale of a black man named Jim who is treated as an inferior by whites. Jim eventually realizes that he is just as good as any white person, and he decides to fight back against the racism he faces. Arrangement in Black and White is an important work of literature that addresses the issue of race in America.
Dorothy Parker, an acclaimed American short-story writer and poet, was also one of the most outstanding humorists of her time. Her liberal political views were often reflected in her works, as seen in “Arrangement in Black and White.” The story examines racial discrimination against black Americans during the first half of the twentieth century, though it lacks a denouement.
The story is built around the contrast between black and white. The black protagonist is a nameless woman, who is only known as Mrs. Jones. She is a respectable middle-aged black woman, who is married to a successful doctor. The white protagonist is a famous painter named Mr. Wilfred Proctor. He is a well-known artist, who has had many exhibitions of his work.
The story starts with a dinner party at the house of Mr. Wilfred Proctor. All the guests are white except for Mrs. Jones, who is the only black person in attendance. Mrs. Jones feels out of place at the party and she is aware of the fact that she is being stared at by the other guests. However, she tries to ignore their stares and enjoys the party.
At the end of the evening, Mr. Proctor asks Mrs. Jones if he can paint her portrait. She agrees to pose for him and they arrange a time for the sitting. Mrs. Jones is excited about the prospect of being painted by a famous artist.
When they meet for the sitting, Mr. Proctor tells Mrs. Jones that he wants to paint her in black and white. She is hesitant at first, but she eventually agrees to it.
During the sitting, Mrs. Jones begins to feel uneasy about being painted in black and white. She starts to think about how black people are always associated with darkness and negativity, while white people are always associated with light and positivity. She wonders why she has to be the black person in the painting.
As Mrs. Jones is thinking these thoughts, Mr. Proctor finishes the painting and reveals it to her. In the painting, Mrs. Jones is standing in front of a black curtain, which makes her look like she is in a prison cell. The black and white tones of the painting make her look like a negative figure.
When Mrs. Jones sees the painting, she is horrified. She realizes that Mr. Proctor has painted her in black and white because he sees her as a black person, rather than as a human being. She feels humiliated and angry at him for making her feel like she is inferior to the other guests at his dinner party.
We meet theprotagonist in the very first sentence– a woman with pink velvet poppies twined around herassisted gold hair, who walks through a crowded room.
We are immediately introduced to the story’s setting – a crowded room. As we read on, we learn more about the party being thrown in honor of black musician Walter Williams and that many representatives from the upper middle class have been invited.
The black musician is the only black person in the room, which makes him feel quite uncomfortable. The protagonist sees this and she herself feels a bit out of place as well. She is described as being different from all the other ladies in the room, not only because of her beauty, but also due to the fact that she does not wear black like they do.
The story develops around the growing feeling of attraction between the protagonist and Walter Williams. Even though they don’t exchange a lot of words, their looks and body language say more than enough. The climax is reached when the protagonist finally decides to talk to Walter Williams, but instead of starting a conversation, she just says his name. And with that one word, everything changes.
The black musician suddenly realizes that the woman is not just some random white lady, but his wife. The wife he left behind in their small town, without any explanation why. The protagonist on the other hand is shocked to hear that the man she was attracted to is actually married to her.
The story then becomes complicated when the woman grabs onto the host’s arm and asks him to introduce her to the black musician. What follows is a conversation in which she brags about how much her husband loves black people, and how she personally adores the talent of this particular black musician. The next complication arises when she is actually introduced to him.
The musician is black, and the woman is white. The story then proceeds to show the inner conflict of the woman, who is torn between her love for black people and her own racial identity.
The story has a complex narrative structure, which we see when the woman tells the host about her husband and how she was constantly quarrelling with him concerning black people. Every plot is based on a conflict, and in this story, the conflict is external: it’s between one set of values (strong prejudice against people of different skin colour) and another set (assuming that all men are born equal).
The story is also based on an internal conflict, the conflict within the soul of the protagonist. The story starts with a dinner party hosted by Mrs. Stavely. She has invited some friends over and they are all sitting around the table chatting. One of the guests, Mrs. Brent, starts to tell a story about her husband’s black nurse. At first, Mrs. Stavely is not interested in hearing the story, but Mrs. Brent persists and eventually tells the whole story.
Mrs. Brent’s husband was a very successful doctor. He had a black nurse who he was very fond of. The nurse was very loyal to him and always did everything she could to help him. However, Mrs. Brent was always suspicious of the nurse and she would constantly quarrel with her husband about black people.
One day, Mrs. Brent’s husband became very ill and he was admitted to hospital. The black nurse was by his side the whole time, even though Mrs. Brent was also there. When her husband died, Mrs. Brent was very angry with the black nurse and she accused her of being responsible for his death.
However, after some time had passed, Mrs. Brent began to see things differently. She realized that the black nurse had been loyal to her husband and that she had only done what she thought was best for him. Mrs. Brent then started to feel guilty about how she had treated the black nurse and she decided to make amends.
Mrs. Brent went to the black nurse’s house and she told her that she was sorry for what she had done. The black nurse forgave Mrs. Brent and they became friends.
The story ends with Mrs. Stavely saying that she would never invite Mrs. Brent to her house again because she is a “dangerous woman”.
This story is an excellent example of how prejudice can lead to conflict and how, with time and understanding, people can overcome their differences. It is also a reminder of the importance of empathy and forgiveness.