Final Collaborative Project
Bridget Hoke and Alana Morrison
12/14/2018
Aunt Chloe and Mrs. Taylor: In Song
The novels in Reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin mainly tracked the legacy of the character of Uncle Tom. We spent the class debating who Uncle Tom was in the original Uncle Tom’s Cabin and analyzing characters in later novels that responded to Uncle Tom. As we came to the last reading assigned, Beloved , which centers around the lives of black women affected by slavery, we began to hear clearly the voices of black women. Looking back on our readings, we were curious to reexamine the women behind the men: the female partners of all our Uncle Tom characters. Although Aunt Chloe is the life partner and other head of household for Uncle Tom, she is not featured often in the text especially in comparison to how many pages focus on Uncle Tom. This legacy follows the Aunt Chloe’s we met in subsequent novels, who either have little voice or have strong influences on their voices. Aunt Chloe was a character we wanted to hear more from, and Mrs. Taylor was a character that we felt Chester Hime’s novel The Third Generation painted too onesidedly as a villain.
In Mrs. Taylor’s pop ballad, “ Thank you, Next,” she speaks about her past failed relationship as well as her failed attempt at being accepted as a black woman in a racist society. In the song, she brings clarity to her decision to pass as white. She also allows the audience to see that her views on success isn’t completely equal to whiteness.
Through the song, she tries to inform her audience that her vision of success comes from getting opportunities. Therefore, if she has to use her white passing privilege as an advantage to be successful she will do just that in order to attain what she may desire. In the text, she is able to receive proper dental care when she was “disguised” as a white woman. However, when it was discovered that she really was a black woman, she was immediately kicked out of the dentist office and treated as if she were half of a human. This, too, brings clarity on why she raises her kids the way she does. The song overall exposes the fact that Mrs. Taylor is merely a scorned woman who has only been recognized for her complexion and her ability to pass as white.
Therefore, she is now taking ownership over her appearance and using it to her advantage, which many black people are unfortunately unable to do. The song gives her an opportunity to explain herself. Hence, she constantly repeats “Thank you. Next” in order to get her listeners to understand her frustration which allows them to understand why she makes the decisions that she does. This song was specifically done as a pop ballad in order to show there is a more friendlier side to her, which was not originally assumed in the first character analysis of the book.
The folk ballad “River Flows Down” takes the point of view of Aunt Chloe, Uncle Tom’s wife in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. When Aunt Chloe finds out that Tom is being sold, she thinks he should escape, advising Tom, “Will you wait to be toted down the river, where they kill n*ggers with hard work and starving? I’d a heap rather die than go there, any day!” (Stowe, 56). In response to her advice, he raises his head and declares he will not run away. We do not hear another point from Aunt Chloe. The fact that she predicts that Tom will die with this decision creates a moment of strong sentimental tragedy, which I wanted to explore with this song. Once Tom is sold, Aunt Chloe works nonstop to gain the money to buy Tom’s freedom, but it is all in vain when Tom dies at Legree’s plantation.
It must have felt like the harder she worked, the more Tom got further from her. We as readers know that he got further and further away down
the river. “Always said he’d be home” is a line that is intentionally without a subject because it holds more than one. Tom said he’d come home, but this line emphasises how Tom cannot keep the familiar promises he wants to because of slavery. His family structure is not supported and thus he cannot keep his promises to them. Another reading of the line can see the Shelby’s as the speaker of the line because Mrs. Shelby promises to do her best to buy back Tom. The response of “someday” reflects how Aunt Chloe has no idea if and when these promises will be fulfilled. As an enslaved person, Aunt Chloe is out of options for getting back her husband; all she is left to do is pray. The line “he prays” refers to the everreligious Tom, who strongly believes in the power of prayer. Furthermore, the praying lines call back to the final chapters, when Harriet Beecher Stowe suggests that “you have another power; you can pray!” (Stowe, 632).
The last verse ends in frustration and anger. The lines “only family I got is you / sit at my table / they eat my food / well look at that / I’m still fucking screwed” are meant to portray the contradictory relationship Aunt Chloe has with the Shelby family. Although they are “good” slave owners and treat the slaves like family, when push comes to shove, Chloe knows Tom is the only true family she has. Young Master Shelby may sit at Aunt Chloe’s dining table in the cabin and compliment her food, but his father will still sell Tom and separate him from his family. She cannot rely on the Shelby’s, who leave her “screwed.”
Although both songs are from the perspective of very different characters, they are both love songs. We chose this style intentionally to honor the power of sentimental fiction that Harriet Beecher Stowe garners in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Jane Tompkins’ essay “Sentimental Power: Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Politics of Literary History” defines the sentimental novel as “written by, for, and about women” (Tompkins, 269). This definition fits our songs, too. Tompkins critiques detractors of sentimental fiction for equating their “popularity for with debasement” and their “emotionality with ineffectiveness,” which are critiques levelled at songs like “Thank You, Next” by Ariana Grande, which Mrs.Taylor’s song is modelled off of (Tompkins, 268). Just like Harriet Beecher Stowe and “the damned mob of scribbling women,” we appreciated the “popularity” and “emotionality” of sentimental fiction to communicate a point about the lives of Aunt Chloe and Mrs. Taylor to our audience. For, there are few things more sentimental and open to popular appeal than love songs.
“River†Flows†Down”†by†Bridget†Hoke
To†the†tune†of†Beyonce’s†“All†Night”
Working each and every day
T only got further away
Down the river
Always said he’d be home
Someday
Someday
I pray
He prays
Didn’t come back for me
Couldn’t come back for me
The river only flows down
Didn’t come back for me
Couldn’t come back for me
Buried in Mississippi ground
It doesn’t matter what I do
Only family I got is you
Sit at my table
They eat my food
Well look at that
I’m still fucking screwed
Sit at my table
They eat my food
Well look at that
I’m still fucking screwed
“Thank†You¨†Next”†by†Alana†Morrison
To†the†tune†of†“Thank†You¨†Next”†by†Ariana†Grande
Yes, I ran into T
No he wasn’t the best
Feel in love with his image
But the love was a mess
Even still we got married
For one kid I am grateful for
But I’ll tell you this union
Man it made me so hateful
Cause
He just saw my face
He invaded my space
Wanting just to progress
So now I’m choosing my race
They can never understand
There’s more to me than just hate
I know in life that there’s more for me
Can you tell by my shade
But when they find out that I’m black
Thank you, next
Thank you, next
Thank you
(I’m so fucking tired of those no)
Thank you, next
Thank you, next
Thank you
I just want to have a chance at the best
Review of Collaboration:
Bridget Hoke
I felt that Alana and I complemented each other really well. We first met over a meal to discuss what we were excited about. The conversation turned to the experience of black women on Bowdoin’s campus and their romantic relationship with black men. That topic easily flowed back into our considerations of the course. We both realized that we would’ve like to have learned more about the perspectives of some of the black women in the novels we read, especially the ones who were partnered with the Uncle Toms that got so much attention and discussion.
After Alana met with Prof. Chakkalakal, she suggested us writing a song. I was intimidated, but knew that Alana was a successful songwriter and trusted her to know what she was doing. We met again to write the songs. Although I was shy and confused at first, Alana really encouraged me to push myself to write, and I ended up getting really into it. We searched for songs together and then wrote the lyrics separately after discussing what we thought the characters of Aunt Chloe and Mrs. Taylor were emotionally going through in our texts.
Once we wrote the songs, I booked a recording studio and we met to record. Alana was a major asset in knowing how to work the recording software. We both helped each other record. As Alana edited the music, I started outlining the introductions and conclusions. I was glad to help with the writing because Alana was contributing so much with producing the songs. We both wrote separate paragraphs explaining our songs, and I edited the final essay for cohesion.
Alana was responsive and totally open with her skills, often taking extra time to teach me things about song writing or recording. I’m very happy we were paired together for this project!
Review of Collaboration:
Alana Morrison
I enjoyed working with Bridget. It was great that we were both able to share our strengths and create a fun and creative project. I appreciated how much she contributed to a lot of the project. Although I write songs, she did not leave me to just write the music. She was very hands on. She articulated her own thoughts with me in conversation and brought what we talked about to life with her song. She was also open to singing as well since she has a background in music making. Working with her, we were able to keep our song writing original and fun.
She was also very open to new ideas and even offered up her own ideas to help push me in my writing. I appreciated that she was very receptive and not shy with pushing me to stay to the book and the feelings of the character because at times I would get caught up in the writing portion and forget the actual objective of the project, which is to speak on behalf of Mrs. Taylor.
I feel like it was a learning experience for both of us. She was able to understand the music production side of this project, and I was to learn how keep my creative ability while having an educational focus. It was also great for her to get to experience how frustrating, at times, it can be to make music. In a booth, especially the one at Bowdoin, you have to get familiar with hearing your voice, even at times when it may not be performing the way that one may like it to. It was nice that we both got to understand each other through a shared experience.
Through this project, we were not only blessed to have a lot of takeaways educationally due to the understanding of the books we read in class, but also through the understanding of each other as people, which I feel is most possible when doing something as vulnerable and intimate as song making.