CHARACTERS

Black man

White woman

SETTING

Jamaica

SUMMARY

          The third-person narrator is unnamed. The story centers around a black man asking a white woman for light from her cigarette. She feels that the man is trespassing on her personal space. The woman has a problem with the colour of the man’s skin and shows the inequalities that existed at the time the story was written. Blacks were still considered inferior to whites. But the man tells the woman that there are only men and women and that the colour of one’s skin does not define the type of person. This assertion is significant as it suggests that the woman’s prejudices do not affect the man. The man sees this prejudice as an irrelevancy.

The woman is intrigued by the man. As she leaves on the bus, she tries not to look back. This is important as she is conscious of what society thinks about the connection between a black man and a white woman. The social barriers at the time between blacks and whites are strong in the woman’s views and consciousness and still, she is fascinated with her encounter with the man. She is conscious of the engagement and how this may be interpreted by others. This would also suggest that the woman wants to remain in the fold of the preconceived and acceptable norms of the time. But the man challenges these views, and he is not intimidated by the values of the woman or that of society.

          The woman is too proud to admit to herself and to the man that his thoughts are accurate and that she is just the same as everyone else. But the society that the woman knows does not allow her to appreciate people of colour and the fact that the man picks up the woman’s cigarette is also interesting as despite what he has said to the woman, there is a clear divide in the social classes. The man is poor and therefore he picks up the cigarette that the woman tosses. He shows no pride at this point which is different from the woman who holds to the privilege that society gives to her because of her colour.

CONFLICT

Man versus society

          Racial discrimination in society influences the thoughts of the white woman against the black man.

Man versus self

          The white woman struggles with the thoughts of looking back at the man as the bus moves away

RESOLUTION

          The black man makes the point that there is no distinction between people except being man and woman. The woman is left with conflicting thoughts on how she views the black man.

THEME

Conflict,

Race,

Equality,

Connection,

Fear,

Class and

Pride

SYMBOL

          The cigarette is a symbol of the class struggle. The woman tosses the cigarette because she can afford to lose it, but the man picks up her waste because he was poor.