Black Is My Favorite Color (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Bernard Malamud
- First Published: 1963
- Type of Plot: Psychological
- Time of Work: The late 1950's
- Setting: New York City
- Principal Characters: Nathan Lime, Ornita Harris, Charity Quietness, Buster Wilson
- Genres: Psychological fiction, Short fiction
- Subjects: African Americans, Children, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Racism, Love or romance, New York City, Interracial relationships, Poverty or poor people, Inner cities or inner-city life, Pain, Jews or Jewish life, Robbery or robbers, Business or business people
- Locales: New York, NY
The Story
Nat Lime, a Jewish liquor dealer in Harlem, is searching for understanding, trying to explain his attraction to African Americans. He begins his monologue by describing his cleaning woman, the kind but puzzling Charity Quietness. He addresses an imaginary audience from his Brooklyn three-room apartment, where he has lived alone since his mother died. On his day off from his liquor store, he eats lunch in his kitchen while his black maid eats in the bathroom.
Although Nat jokes about this absurdity, he is hurt by Charity's refusal to join him and says that the...
[The entire page is 1404 words long]
See Also:
Bernard Malamud (Cyclopedia of World Authors)Bernard Malamud (Short Fiction)Bernard Malamud (Long Fiction)Bernard Malamud (Identities and Issues)Theory of Short Fiction (Topical Overview--Short Fiction)
See Also:
- - Black Is My Favorite Color summary and study guide in the eNotes.
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