Analysis of Florence by Alice Childress

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

Florence

Analysis by John Doe

This 1950 play by Alice Childress takes place in a train station waiting room in a very small town in the south. The play describes how Miss Whitney, an old black woman, discovers that her premonition of the success of her daughter, Florence, as a black actress is undesirably similar to that of a racist, white society. This troubling discovery has just as strong an impact on the reader as it does on Miss Whitney. This drama teaches the reader how the views and opinions of individuals or groups can influence other individuals or groups to approach situations with the same reaction, although their views and opinions may be opposite.

Marge, Miss Whitney’s other daughter, first introduces this frame of mind to as she accompanies Miss Whitney at the train station. They sit in the “colored” section of the train station while Miss Whitney awaits a train to Harlem to convince Florence to come back home to the south. Florence fled to Harlem with ambition of being an actress. After she calls home to ask for money, Marge is convinced that Florence will fail because she is a black woman attempting to make it in a business dominated by whites in a racially segregated society. Although Miss Whitney seems to have a little bit more faith in Florence, she still wants to convince Florence to come back home. They even have a check ready to pay for her trip home, which is causing them to be late on their rent. This reveals to us that they are willing to sacrifice a little in order to prevent Florence from possibly failing in her quest for success. As Marge speaks to her mother she reveals her mentality in regards to Florence’s situation, “She ain’t gonna get rich up there and we can’t afford to do for her. She got notions a Negro woman don’t need. She must think she’s white!” (Childress. 1320) Her mother expresses a bit more faith responding, “Maybe we shoulda just sent her the money this time. This one time.” (Childress. 1320)

As Marge leaves the station we are introduced to Mr. Brown, an old black porter. As Mr. Brown speaks with Miss Whitney we find out that his son and brother are both attending different colleges. Miss Whitney expresses her thoughts by saying, “takes an awful lot of goin’ to school to be anything.” (Childress.1322) Mr. Brown also informs Miss Whitney that his brother saw Florence in a movie. This excites Miss Whitney only for a second as she proceeds to ask Mr. Brown about his brother’s aspirations, as if it were more interesting. The conversation is short due to the ...

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Mrs. Carter is introduced in the play as a “white woman…well dressed, wearing furs and carrying a small, expensive overnight bag.” (Childress. 1322) Mrs. Carter is on her way back home to New York City. Although she thinks of herself as being beyond the racist state of the south, we are immediately exposed to her racist mentality as she speaks her first word, “Boy,” (Childress. 1322) referring to the porter, a fifty year-old black man. As she paces back and forth in the white side of the room, Mrs. Carter begins a conversation with Miss Whitney. During the conversation we learn about Mrs. Carter’s brother, Jeff, a writer, who recently received bad reviews on his last book. Mrs. Carter explains that the story is about a black woman who looks white and eventually kills herself because she is ashamed of being black and doesn’t fully belong. The most interesting part of the conversation is when Mrs. Carter explains the reason this woman killed herself. Mrs. Carter explains the ending scene in a way that she believes makes it obvious that the woman committed suicide and what her reason was for doing so. Yet Mrs. Carter doesn’t figure it out because she can’t comprehend how the two ideas would connect, not because she’s stupid, but because her train of thought understandably cannot grasp how being black would be a reason to kill one’s self. The following is taken from this conversation in the play where Mrs. Carter explains the final scene:

“MRS. CARTER: Tears roll down her cheeks as she says…almost! almost white…but I’m black! I’m a Negro! and then…(Turns to MAMA) she jumps down and drowns herself.

MAMA: (Opens her eyes. Speaks quietly): Why?

MRS. CARTER: She can’t face it! Living in a world where she almost belongs but not quite. Oh it’s so…so…tragic.

MAMA: That ain’t so! Not one bit it ain’t!” (Childress. 1324)

You can see Miss Whitney’s reaction isn’t only towards the story’s ending, but also towards Mrs. Carter’s belief in its realism. After Miss Whitney calms down from the frustration Mrs. Carter apologizes for speaking with her on such a controversial subject.

Mrs. Carter continues to show her ignorance as she states, “I’ve drifted away from…What started all of this?” (Childress. 1325) In attempt to convince Miss Whitney that she is not a racist, Mrs. Carter informs her that she sent $1000 to a Negro college has eaten with Negroes. Mrs. Carter’s curiosity about Miss Whitney leads them to discuss Florence’s aspiration to be an actress. Mrs. Carter reveals that she is an actress as well and advises Miss Whitney to stop Florence from what she’s doing because it is difficult ever for her to get work as an actress. Miss Whitney asks Mrs. Carter if she could help Florence out by calling somebody she knew to get her some work. After Mrs. Carter hands her an address, Miss Whitney is satisfied at first only to find out that Mrs. Carter’s connection was for Florence to be her friend’s maid, not an actress. This infuriates Miss Whitney. As Mrs. Carter leaves to the restroom, Miss Whitney falls into deep thought. She then writes a brief note on paper and puts it in an envelope with the check then asks Mr. Brown to put a stamp on it and mail it for her. She tells Mr. Brown that the letter to Florence read, “Keep trying.” (Childress. 1329)

The ending to this play has a powerful message. Before Miss Whitney’s conversation with Mrs. Carter, she felt Florence wouldn’t make it as an actress. After realizing that a racist white woman felt the same way, Miss Whitney reevaluated her reasons for wanting Florence to come home. Realizing her reason’s weren’t much different, she felt the best thing to do is to encourage Florence to follow her dream no matter how hard it may be to achieve, rather than make her believe it was impossible, just as the white society wanted her to believe. Once this message is conveyed to the reader you can’t help but look upon your own past and wonder if you’ve ever been guilty of letting somebody else’s opinions influence what you believe is or isn’t possible. This play teaches us to be more open-minded as well as not being a hypocrite. This play is a masterpiece by Alice Childress to say the least

WORKS CITED

Childress, Alice. “Florence." Literature and Society: An Introduction to Fiction,

Poetry, Drama, Nonfiction. Eds. Pamela J. Annas and Robert C. Rosen. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000. 313-316.