The Ways of White Folks

“The ways of white folks, I mean some white folks…—Berry” 

The epigraph that opens the collection is attributed to Berry, the main character of Story 11. Before the collection even begins, Hughes tells the reader what the stories will be about (the ways of White folks). Hughes avoids dealing in absolutes, however, by clarifying that the racist and violent behavior exhibited by many White people throughout the collection are the behaviors of some White people, not all. Hughes thereby avoids resorting to negative generalities. 

“The Studevants thought they owned her, and they were perfectly right: they did. There was something about the teeth in the trap of economic circumstance that kept her in their power practically all her life—in the Studevant kitchen, cooking; in the Studevant parlor, sweeping; in the Studevant backyard, hanging clothes.” 

Throughout “Cora Unashamed,” Cora Jenkins grapples with the positives and negatives of working for the Studevant family. She considers leaving, but the Studevants’ powerful economic power, and the lack of jobs in Melton, trap Cora into staying. Her struggle in Story 1 provides the building blocks for Hughes’s comments on class and the power the rich have over the poor in the United States. 

“She approached the coffin and held out her brown hands over the white girl’s body. Her face moved in agitation. People sat stone-still and there was a long pause. Suddenly she screamed. ‘They killed you! And for nothin’…They killed your child…They took you away from here in the springtime of your life, and now you’se gone, gone, gone!’” 

Cora’s outburst releases the narrative tension built throughout the story. Her cries are cinematic, providing the reader with a dramatic conclusion. She has pieced together Jessie’s illness and death—the truth that the rest of the Studevants try to hide—demonstrating her intellect and agency. Cora also refuses to remain silent regarding the cause of Jessie’s death, showing her strong moral center; she would rather speak the truth, even if it means losing her job.