Darkness And Confusion Analysis

In the story In “Darkness and Confusion” slums of Harlem, a black man lives at the top of an apartment building with his portly wife and unruly niece, where he struggles to make ends meet. William Jones lives his life with little control on what happens because he is an uneducated black man living in the 1930’s, and his family does not take his point of view into consideration. Working the meager job of a maintenance worker for a druggist in on fifth avenue William Jones spends the majority of his day sprucing up the store and stocking the shelves. Hardly making any money at all, William is restricted to live in the inexpensive upper levels of buildings. William and Pink can only afford a meager twenty-two dollars a month, which only bought

He purposefully wakes up early so he can have a little bit of time for himself and, so he is able to leave the house with little or no interactions between Pink or Annie May in the morning. William is deeply worried by Annie May’s habit of staying out so late, but when he attempted to reprove her about her habits, Annie and Pink jeer at him. Although, William is not telling Pink that Annie May is getting home at nearly four o'clock in the morning, it would be expected that Pink would respect the concern that he has for his niece. Sam also showed a disrespectful attitude towards William when he was lecturing him about the women on eighth avenue, “Sam didn't answer him. Instead he looked at him with an extremely adult look.” (167)This display the lack of respect that Sam has for William, and what little of an impact his words have on Sam. In the big picture William Jones has almost no control over what happens in his life. Although, he is good at his job, he has no way of moving up the economic ladder due to his lack of education. Additionally, William has no recognition at home and his family doesn't take into consideration. William will forever live with, “his voice ragging into the