The short story, Suppose Sorrow Was a Time Machine, written
by Amiri Baraka, begins in Dothan, Alabama, USA, 1898. The narrator is the
grandchild of the man in the story. The man’s name is Tom Russ. Tom Russ is a Negro who has felt the ground vibrate and hasn’t a clue where it
came from. So Tom sets out to interpret this vibration and its meaning so he can tell his grandson at a later time in life, because the grandson/narrator has also felt the ground vibrate.The ground vibrating without knowing the reason why is a traumatizing situation that can make a person feel hopeless for the near future. Tom Russ has this feeling and is determined to figure it out. Doing so Tom becomes an affluent man in his community, now that he has gained experience during times of hopelessness.
Tom Russ owns a store that has been burnt down because of the racist mindset of America. Tom unafraid of his aggressors decides to build the store back up. He does this with much zeal to show his aggressors that he is not afraid, but because he does this with so much passion, the aggressors burn down the store again and threaten to run him out of town. However, this does not bother Tom, he begins the rebuilding process again, and the result being the “biggest funeral parlor in the county.” Naturally, this does not sit well with the racist people who have previously burned down his store, and so they burn it down again. The Narrator asks, "Is the burning another vibration?"
Tom Russ owns a store that has been burnt down because of the racist mindset of America. Tom unafraid of his aggressors decides to build the store back up. He does this with much zeal to show his aggressors that he is not afraid, but because he does this with so much passion, the aggressors burn down the store again and threaten to run him out of town. However, this does not bother Tom, he begins the rebuilding process again, and the result being the “biggest funeral parlor in the county.” Naturally, this does not sit well with the racist people who have previously burned down his store, and so they burn it down again. The Narrator asks, "Is the burning another vibration?"
what he really might be asking is the burning of the store connected to some previous part of the story.
Tom Russ, his wife Anna Russ, and his two children George and Anna Lois move to Beaver Hills, Pennsylvania. In Beaver Hills, Tom Russ opens up shop, selling eggs, produce, and has the best liquor in the county. Tom Russ sends his daughter off to college, so she can know about these vibrations too. When they talk about the vibration in Beaver hill Pennsylvania he says “no vibrations here,” meaning that they were fine there, no problems, things seemed like to be running smoothly. He sent his daughter off to college not to get a formal education, but an education on “them vibrations.” Anna Lois was sent because Tom knew she would encounter certain problems as a Negro in America, and that understanding these problems is paramount to a Negros survival in the country. Also, since things were running smoothly I think that bothered Tom because, he seemed to be motivated by the ground-vibrating situations. He needed answers to his questions as to why all those things happened to him back in Alabama. Which results in his decision to search for answers further north in Newark, New Jersey.
Tom Russ, his wife Anna Russ, and his two children George and Anna Lois move to Beaver Hills, Pennsylvania. In Beaver Hills, Tom Russ opens up shop, selling eggs, produce, and has the best liquor in the county. Tom Russ sends his daughter off to college, so she can know about these vibrations too. When they talk about the vibration in Beaver hill Pennsylvania he says “no vibrations here,” meaning that they were fine there, no problems, things seemed like to be running smoothly. He sent his daughter off to college not to get a formal education, but an education on “them vibrations.” Anna Lois was sent because Tom knew she would encounter certain problems as a Negro in America, and that understanding these problems is paramount to a Negros survival in the country. Also, since things were running smoothly I think that bothered Tom because, he seemed to be motivated by the ground-vibrating situations. He needed answers to his questions as to why all those things happened to him back in Alabama. Which results in his decision to search for answers further north in Newark, New Jersey.
Finally, Tom makes it
to Newark New Jersey where he attains great success. Tom now owns a Super General Store and
has a position in government. He is a very affluent man in 1929, and that might be the reason why their was an attack on his life. It's as though he understands the game and
is able to manipulate it in his favor. Making him very dangerous in the eyes of
racist America.
Tom Russ was
eventually hit the head with a street lamp causing him severe brain damage. He
was restricted to a rocking chair next to a wooden fire. In this state of
health, Tom Russ, was not able to tell his grandson what he had figured out
about the vibration. The sole purpose of figuring out what the vibrations were,
according to the narrator, was for Tom to tell his grandson all about this
vibration, that he felt back in Dothan, Alabama.
At the death of Tom Russ, the grandchild is watching him lay still waiting to tell him what the vibrations were all about. Unfortunately, because Tom is dead he can not tell his grandson about the vibration he had felt back in Dothan, Alabama. Tom never had the opportunity to tell his grandchild about his learning experiences of the vibrations and where they came from. The death of Tom without him being able to tell his grandson about the ground vibrating was a hopeless situation for the grandson. Several years later the grandson understand that the hopelessness he felt at his grandfathers passing is the same that his grandfather had all along.
At the death of Tom Russ, the grandchild is watching him lay still waiting to tell him what the vibrations were all about. Unfortunately, because Tom is dead he can not tell his grandson about the vibration he had felt back in Dothan, Alabama. Tom never had the opportunity to tell his grandchild about his learning experiences of the vibrations and where they came from. The death of Tom without him being able to tell his grandson about the ground vibrating was a hopeless situation for the grandson. Several years later the grandson understand that the hopelessness he felt at his grandfathers passing is the same that his grandfather had all along.
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