The Civil Rights Movement in the United States, which saw its greatest success during the 1960’s, was the impetus for radical change in American society. The most groundbreaking of these changes was racial desegregation. From public schools to sporting events to local dining establishments, white and black Americans were now forced to treat each other as equals. Black Americans gradually gained more of a public voice, and African-American literature became increasingly more prolific as time passed. Much of this literature dealt with civil rights issues. The characters in “Blues Ain’t No Mockin’ Bird” convey a message to young black Americans to live correctly in a desegregated society.
Older black Americans set two contrasting examples for black society. First, Granny and Granddaddy Cain show others the correct way to live in a newly mixed society. Granny shows her care for others when she tells the cameraman that “Just people here is what I tend to consider” (64)1. Also, she keeps her small house so clean that her presumably white neighbor, Mrs. Cooper, is surprised at “how clean it all was” (66). Granddaddy Cain deals with tense or negative situations with a sense of calmness and stability. When the hawk attacks everyone in the driveway, Mr. Cain stands “straight up and silent . . . aimin’ the hammer off his wrist” (67). He calmly kills the hawk and thus eliminates the trouble. Later, when he confronts the cameramen, he does so peacefully. He is a burly, muscular man, perfectly capable of attacking the government workers, but instead he simply exposes the film inside the camera. Granny and Granddaddy’s actions showed the others in their household how to behave.
On the other hand, the twins’ parents support several white stereotypes of black Americans by their actions. Their mother, Miss Myrtle, “tell[s] us never mind the formality . . .
Younger black Americans follow in the footsteps of those who lead them. Toni Cade Bambara introduces these younger characters first; and, as a result, their mimicking of authorities is not as strikingly obvious. Tyrone and Terry, unfortunately, learn well from their parents. Terry seems especially impressionable: Cathy says of him, “That boy don’t never have anything original to say” (64). He only parrots those around him. Later, after hearing the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, both boys imitate their father’s violent outlook on life. Tyrone asks, “‘Did they throw her out?’…like his father sounds when he’s bein extra nasty-plus.” Terry responds, “I woulda gone upside her head with my fist and-” (66). He is suddenly interrupted by Tyrone, and soon the two are brawling in the middle of the yard. The twins represent one segment of black youth as they learn how to perpetually not think for themselves and as they develop violent characteristics.
Cathy and the narrator stand opposite Tyrone and Terry as they follow the example of Granny and Granddaddy Cain. They represent another segment of black youth that is living correctly. Cathy, soundin like Granny teacher” (66), shows care for the younger children by teaching them good manners and morals through storytelling. Granny asks them, not the twins, to go and talk to the white intruders, which indicates the girls have been developing trustworthiness and dependability.
In “Blues Ain’t No Mockin Bird,” the black characters subtly show the message of living well no matter the circumstances. While Granny and Granddaddy Cain are not materially wealthy, they take what they have and turn it into much more. At the conclusion of the story, Cathy proclaims that someday she will write a story “about the proper use of a hammer” (68). The hammer is a representation of the way in which individuals handle difficult circumstances. Tyrone asks, “Can I be in it?” and Cathy replies, “Perhaps…if you there and ready” (68). This final message transcends all boundaries: no matter what path of life he has chosen, no matter his race, and no matter any circumstances that might have befallen him, he still has a chance to change.
1All references to “Blues Ain’t No Mockin’ Bird” are from Toni Cade Bambara, “Blues Ain’t No Mockin’ Bird,” Readings for College English, Grace C. Collins, et al., eds., (Greenville, SC: BJUP, 1990).
