Suppose Sorrow was a Time Machine

Suppose Sorrow was a Time Machine , written by Amiri Baraka takes us back African American history, during the late 1890's, when the faced racial violence.  He presents to us his grandfather, Tom Russ: "Say that your are Tom Russ. It is Dothan, Alabama. U.S.A, 1898. You are a negro who felt the ground vibrate. You are trying to interpret the vibration, and what it means in 1898 Dothan. I know you Tom. You are my grandfather. Baraka frequently repeats the word "vibrate/vibrations" throughout the story and therefore he wants to put an emphasis on what the actually vibration is. My interpretation what the vibration is the ambition, obstacles, determination that Russ had, or any other African-American had. We are told the Russ had a store, which was put to fire. he had the ambition to rebuild it again (1). No matter what Russ may have faced in that city. he did not want to leave the city nor give up. He eventually had to leave the city when it built the store the second time, and it was put on fire again. On the second page, Baraka states: " One vibration ain't the world. Your unborn grandson says leave this pisshearted town, Tom. Pack up and move on, Tom. Vibrations are like anything else- there's more wherever you go." His family is trying to tell him that wherever he goes, he will still have vibrations along with him. He will succeed no matter what as long as he has the dedication and determination to do so: "A vibration can carry a man a long way."
Throughout the story, we are given a timeline of the family's history. They first lived in Alabama, moved to Pennsylvania, and eventually landed in New Jersey. Following the timeline, we can see that Russ did not give up at all and continued his best to succeed.

This story can be interpreted like the poem "Sun Goddess" by David Henderson. One similarity between the two works is that the authors wrote in prose, using short blunt rhythms in the beginning of the paragraphs. Both works also reflects on the authors own personal lives. "Sun Goddess" focuses on the struggle a single mother had to face, but still having the ability to overcome them. Likewise in "Suppose Sorrow was a Time Machine", grandfather Tom Russ had to face obstacles in a certain town, but with vibrations such has determination and ambition, he also was able to overcome the struggles. No matter where you go, or who you are, and the obstacles you may face, always remember to have determination and dedication in order to reach your goals, dreams, and to succeed