Poston Notes

Ted Poston (1906-1974)

"The Revolt of the Evil Fairies"

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Brief Biography:

Theodore Roosevelt Augustus Major Poston was born in 1906 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. His parents, Mollie and Ephraim Poston, were both teachers whose position earned the family some prestige within the African American community and some access to the leadership of the white community. He attended the Booker T. Washington Grammar School and Crispus Attucks High School. In 1921, he began work at the Hopkinsville Contender, a family-run newspaper. In 1928, after graduating from Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial College (now Tennessee State University) in Nashville, he moved North to New York City, where he began a long, successful career as a journalist. From 1929-1936 he worked first as a reporter then as city editor for the . In 1936, the fired him after he successfully unionized the paper. In 1937, the New York Post hired him only after he promised to get them a first page story for the next day. During his career, Poston often risked his life in the South to cover the early stages of the civil rights movement. In "My Most Humiliating Jim Crow Experience" (1944), Poston discusses the time that he covered the third Scottsboro Trial in Decatur, Alabama, as the only black reporter. The Scottsboro Case involved nine African American teenagers who had been convicted in 1931 of attacking two white women. In 1932, The Supreme Court overthrew that conviction and a series of new trials ensued. Although the defendants were never acquitted, each one of them eventually gained their freedom.
In the early 40's, Poston began to write short fiction that loosely mirrored his life and the racism that affected him and its targets. "The Revolt of the Evil Fairies," the autobiographical story that is discussed below, first appeared in print in the New Republic in 1942.

"The Revolt of the Evil Fairies":

Characters:

"narrator, Ted Poston," "Rat Jointer," narrator's friend, "Roger Jackson," yaller Prince Charming, "Sarah Williams," Sleeping Beauty," "Miss H. Belle LaPrade," sixth-grade teacher, "Leonardius Wright," yarrler Prince Charming and goody-goody.
Plot:

Young African American boy attempts on, at least, two separate occasions to win the role of Prince Charming in the school's annual play. Each attempt to win the part brings him heart break since the role is awarded to "yarrlers," light-skinned African Americans. After Sarah Williams, his unrequited love since kindergarten, wins the part of Sleeping Beauty, the narrator goes all out to win the role of Prince Charming. He rehearses the lines and begins using Palmer's Skin Success (a commercial product for lightening the skin). Despite his efforts, Leonardius Wright, a "yarrler," wins the role of Prince Charming, and he once again assumed the role of the Head Evil Fairy. On the night of the production, all proceeds as planned except for two instances. In the second act of the play, Leonardius raps the narrator over the head with his sword. Although the act was not in the script, Miss LaPrade quiets the narrator by telling him that it was a nice little touch. The second incident occurs in the third act when the vanquishing of the Head Evil Fairy is to occur. Just as Leonardius begins to take his sword to dismiss the Evil Fairy, the narrator "cut loose with a right to the chin" (89). Initially, the audience sees the fist fight as a new addition to the play until it fails to relent. Peace is finally restored after the curtains are closed, and when they are raised fifteen minutes later, the play continues as planned.
Theme:
- taboo issues of class and color-based divisions
- don't judge a book by its cover: Rat Jointer is the social outcast--"not only black; he lived on Billy Goat Hill"--yet, he has a clearer understanding of the situation of their lives, then the narrator, who "made the best grades in [his] class. . . was the leading debater, and the scion of a respected family in the community" (87). As Rat Jointer, points out: "If you black, you black" (87).
Point of View:

First-person objective.

General Discussion:
- Poston uses a mixture of different levels of language, often for humorous or satiric effect. When he describes the pretensions of the local undertaker, Ed Smith, who over dresses for the school play, Poston uses deliberately elegant words such as garb and officiated. He uses informal language to describe his throwing a punch at the end: "I cut loose with a right to the chin."
1. How was the audience segregated at the annual school play?
2. Name the three leading roles in the play?
3. What was the narrator's personal tragedy?
4. What caused a fight to break out in the third act?
5. How did Rat Jointer "settle old scores"?
6. The narrator says that the "grand dramatic offering was only a reflection of our daily community life." How did the "yallers" have the best of everything in the community? How did they also have the best of everything in the school play?
7. Why did the narrator keep on trying out for the part of Prince Charming?
8. What impression do you get of Rat Jointer? What might have been the "old scores" for which he got even?
9. What was the direct cause of the revolt of the Evil Fairies? What may have been the long-standing and indirect cause?
10. Although the story makes the reader think seriously about the effects of discrimination, the author's tone, or attitude, is often humorous. What examples of humor can you find in the narrative?
11. How would you describe the language used by Rat Jointer? What do you think is the author's intention in making Rat Jointer's speech different from that of the narrator?
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Ted Poston (1906-1974)

"The Revolt of the Evil Fairies"

If you notice any errors, please let me know by e-mailing me: myron@word-hoard.com

If you notice any errors, please let me know by e-mailing me:

myron@word-hoard.com