Part 1, The Seer and the Seen, Section 6 Summary and Analysis

These two selections, written several years apart and each focused on a different piece of writing, both explore the author's perspective on ways in which fiction writing in America simultaneously explores, defines, and denies the pervasive issue of race relations.

"Beating that Boy" (published 1945). The essay opens with a definition of its title - "beating that boy" refers to the way Negroes refer to the inevitable topic of conversation when they visit white friends, the so-called "Negro problem", and uses a book called Primer for White Folks as an example of the way that the "problem" has become embedded in America's literature.

Primer for White Folks is described as a collection of writings, fiction and non-fiction, written by white and Negro writers alike. The author comments that while each...