The Ballad of Black Tom

In The Ballad of Black Tom, guitars are important symbols of character change, the power of music, and family. Playing the guitar is the main way Tommy connects with his father, who taught him how to play. Even though Tommy does not play the guitar well, a guitar or at least the case, is always with him. When Tommy learns to play the conjure music Otis teaches him, it signals Tommy’s transformation from a hustler into a magician. Tragically, the guitar is the symbolic center of Otis’s death. Otis wanted Tommy to wield the guitar as a figurative weapon, but the police mistake Otis’s guitar for a literal weapon—a rifle—when Howard searches Tommy’s apartment. The blood-spattered guitar Tommy is rumored to carry after he becomes Black Tom symbolizes the injustice that has embittered him.

The guitar is also Tommy’s symbol of growth. At first, Tommy’s guitar case is empty, and he uses it for show. When he does play, it is only for money, part of an act. Learning to play “Don’t you mind people grinning in your face,” shows Tommy’s changing relationship to the guitar. Before, playing and hustling were his livelihood, but now, his life depends on the music’s mystical qualities.