"Son, after I'm gone I want you to keep up the good fight. I never told you, but our life is a war and I have been a traitor all my born days, a spy in the enemy's country ever since I give up my gun back in Reconstruction. Live with your head in the lion's mouth. I want you to overcome 'em with yeses, undermine 'em with grins, agree 'em to death and destruction, let 'em swoller you till they vomit or bust wide open." (16). Although I've barely finished Chapter 5, I think that now would be a good time to attempt to interpret this quote. So what exactly did the old man mean? The narrator is alarmed by how this "quiet old man who never made any trouble" (16) could refer to himself as a spy and a traitor. He also is unable to comprehend how he is "carrying out his advice in spite of myself." (16). In short, my interpretation of this advice is that one (in the context of the novel-an African American) should behave and act exactly how others (white folk) want them to. However, one should model this ideal African American citizen so perfectly that the white folk are forced to accept he or she as a person, even if it means that they are close to being equals. "When I was praised for my conduct I felt a guilt that in some way I was doing something that was really against the wishes fo the white folks, that if they had understood they would have desired me to act just the opposite..." (17). What this quote indicates is that although white folk appear to praise and commend African Americans who excel socially and intellectually, deep down many of these white folk are worried. Over the past few years, they had subjugated African Americans with the justification that they were "inferior." These white folk try to gain public approval by promoting the education and development of African American students, treating it almost as charity work. However, when these bright students not only meet but exceed the expectations they are challenged with, the gap between the "superior" whites and "inferior" African Americans begins to vanish. It can almost be seen as a paradox-white folks promote the advancement of young African Americans while at the same time hoping they will fail. Getting back to the main focus of this post, I think that the grandfather wants his son/grandson to become so heralded in the view of white folks that he must be accepted and treated as equal; anything to the contrary would call into question the "philanthropic" motives of the upper class.
I think a key word that should be scrutinized in terms of this quote is "humility." I suppose that humility could also be described as a motif. It is the centerpiece of the narrator's graduation day speech and is exhibited almost flawlessly in the behavior of Dr. Bledsoe. When the grandfather implores his son and grandson to "overcome 'em with yeses and undermine 'em with grins" he is stressing the importance of being humble. You can be the most brilliant African American student, but acting arrogantly will probably get you killed. In Chapter five, Dr. Bledsoe sits next to the other men with a "...posture of humility and meekenss which made him seem smaller than the others..." (115). Dr. Bledsoe has become a powerful African American man by being humble and recognizing his superiors.
I feel like I've only briefly begun to analyze this quote- further discussion could focus on the note at the end of chapter 1, Mr. Norton's motive for involvement in the school, and the men's outrage at the narrator's slip up during his speech when he accidentally said "social equality." After finishing the novel, I plan to examine the quote again to see where I might have been misled and add more to this analysis.
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