Analysis Of Max Brooks The Harlem Hellfighters

The Harlem Hellfighters, written by Max Brooks, is a fiction book based off the African American 369th Infantry Regiment in 1919. In this novel, Brooks concentrates mainly on the major obstacles African American soldiers faced during World War I. He focuses on how these challenges affects their lives and is very thorough when expressing his own opinions and perspectives. He talks about the hardships and social aspects of their daily lives as well as the harsh reality of the war, that make it more appealing to the readers. Brooks centralized theme was about the challenges and discrimination of African Americans during the war, how it affected their lives emotionally and physically, and what was done to amend these challenges.

Discrimination

The unjust treatment of African American soldiers was undeniable. They did not get the same approach and justice as white men. For instance, in the novel when the soldiers were beginning their weapon training, the white men were issued real guns while the African American’s were issued broomsticks. “Uniforms...were issued first to white boys while most colored troops had to train in our original civvies. White troops also got issued firearms. Spankin new Springfields fresh from the factory while we trained...with broomsticks.” (page 34) This was an adequate example of the unfair treatment; they did not receive the same benefits and entitlements. Another example of this was when the government intentionally attempted to sabotage the African American troops by sending them to Spartanburg,

They were ordinary men who sacrificed their lives to save the country, but were not given the respect and honor they deserved. An example of them using their name, “The Harlem Hellfighters”, as a positive point was when Colonel Reginald Sanders said, “"We did not give ourselves our name. Our enemies gave us our name, [which] is an honor." They were putting the unfairness aside and worked together and did what was possible to try to win the war. Brooks did a very good job demonstrating the attitudes of the men and how they felt towards each other. He really shows the everyday discrimination, even though these men fought for their country just like their white peers. Brooks incorporated real life examples in the novel which grabbed the attention to the readers, making the mood more emotional and melancholy. A major example of the discrimination between them, even though they accomplished the same things is when the African American men were not allowed to march in the parade. “See, the rest of the New York national guardsmen, the “rainbow division”, they marched off to war in this grand parade. All flags and music and whatnot. It felt like a party where everybody in new york city was invited...everybody but us. We weren’t asked to march with the “rainbow division” because, as we were