Part I, Twenty-One, Back Home—Bullfights Summary and Analysis

On the train back home from Mexico, several white passengers mistake Langston for a Mexican, and speak to him in Spanish. When they cross the border into the U.S.A., the "colored" passengers have to wait in a separate waiting room, which is not as nice as the one for whites and Mexicans. Langston just orders his sleeping car in Spanish, and goes into the good waiting room. When they stop for a short while in St. Louis, Missouri, a waiter asks Langston if he is Mexican or "colored," saying that he will not serve a "colored" man. Langston answers him truthfully, and reflects to himself that it is good to be back in the good old U.S.A. Langston returns for his senior year of high...