Gorilla, My Love by Toni Cade Bambara
"Gorilla, My Love" by Toni Cade Bambara is a collection of short stories published in 1972, which reflects the experiences of African Americans in urban settings from the late 1950s to early 1970s. The book features fifteen stories, primarily told through the voices of streetwise preadolescent girls, who navigate their environments with sharp awareness and resilience. Central themes include the complexity of family dynamics, societal perceptions of black identity, and the strength of community ties. The titular story, "Gorilla, My Love," explores a child's disillusionment with adult promises, highlighting the misunderstandings that can exist between generations. Other stories, such as "Playin with Ponjob" and "Blues Ain't No Mockin Bird," challenge stereotypes surrounding black male figures and illustrate the protective roles they can embody within their families. Through these narratives, Bambara affirms a positive representation of African Americans, advocating for a self-understanding that defies mainstream societal narratives of alienation and dysfunction. Overall, "Gorilla, My Love" offers insightful commentary on the black experience in America while celebrating the strength and dignity of its characters.
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Gorilla, My Love by Toni Cade Bambara
First published: 1971 (originally as “I Ain’t Playin, I’m Hurtin”; collected in Gorilla, My Love, 1972
The Work
Published in 1972, Gorilla, My Love is a collection of short stories written between 1959 and 1971. The book is an upbeat, positive work that redefines the black experience in America. It affirms the fact that inner-city children can grow into strong, healthy adults. It indicates clearly that black men are not always the weak, predatory element in the family but can be a strong, protective force. It intimates that African Americans are not the socially alienated, dysfunctional people that the mainstream society sometimes suggests. Instead, the stories project an image of a people who love themselves, who understand themselves, and who need no validation.
The fifteen short stories that compose the text are set in urban areas, and the narrative voices are usually streetwise, preadolescent girls who are extremely aware of their environment. The titular story, “Gorilla, My Love” is centered in the misunderstanding between a child and an adult. Jefferson Vale announces that he is getting married, but he has promised his preadolescent niece, Hazel, to marry her. Hazel sees her “Hunca” Bubba as a “lyin dawg.” Although her uncle and her grandfather attempt to console her, Hazel believes adults “mess over kids, just cause they little and can’t take em to court.”
All of the stories are informative and entertaining. A story that typifies the anthology is “Playin with Ponjob,” which details how a white social worker, Miss Violet, underestimates the influence of a local thug and is forced to leave the community. “Talkin Bout Sunny” explores the effects of the mainstream on the black male by pointing out how pressures from the larger community cause Sunny to kill his wife. “The Lesson” points out the disparity between the rich and the poor by telling of children window-shopping on Fifth Avenue. “Blues Ain’t No Mockin Bird” details how one man protects his family from prying photographers employed by the welfare system.
What is significant in “Playin with Ponjob” is that Toni Cade Bambara does not depict Ponjob as being predatory. He is male, “jammed-up by the white man’s nightmare.” To the community, he is “the only kind of leader we can think of.” In “Talkin Bout Sunny” Bambara indicates that the larger community is partly responsible for Sunny’s actions, but she also indicates that the community of Sunny’s friends is also responsible because they know of his distemper, but do nothing. “The Lesson” teaches children that what one wealthy person spends on one toy can feed eight of them for a year. “Blues Ain’t No Mockin Bird” indicates that the patriarch of an extended family can protect his own. The collection depicts African Americans as a strong, progressive people.
Bibliography
Bambara, Toni Cade. “Salvation Is the Issue.” In Black Women Writers (1950-1980): A Critical Evaluation, edited by Mari Evans. Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1984. In this essay, Bambara discusses her experiences as a writer and states her preference for the short story as a genre. The elements of her own work that she deems most important are laughter, the use of language, a sense of community, and celebration.
Burks, Ruth Elizabeth. “From Baptism to Resurrection: Toni Cade Bambara and the Incongruity of Language.” In Black Women Writers (1950-1980): A Critical Evaluation, edited by Mari Evans. Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1984. Burks provides brief summaries of the individual stories. Stresses the importance of language in Bambara’s portrayal of black characters as she accurately records their experiences in their own voices. Burks notes that the rhythm and graphic descriptions of these narratives reflect the influence of Negro spirituals.
Hargrove, Nancy D. “Youth in Toni Cade Bambara’s Gorilla, My Love.” Southern Quarterly 22 (Fall, 1983): 81-99. Hargrove provides an in-depth analysis of individual stories, focusing on those that look at life from the point of view of a child. Notes that Bambara treats two sides of the African American experience, balancing the grim reality of violence and poverty with the positive portrayal of family ties and strong characters. Hargrove argues that Bambara deals with universal themes of isolation, disillusionment, and initiation, but that she also displays a warm sense of humor as she explores the pain, confusion, and joy of youth.
Tate, Claudia, ed. Black Women Writers at Work. New York: Continuum, 1983. In this collection of interviews with African American women writers, Claudia Tate explores their visions and styles. In her interview, Bambara reflects on the influence that being black and female has had on her work. She discusses the differences that she sees between male and female writers and talks about her own writing process.
Traylor, Eleanor W. “Music as Theme: The Jazz Mode in the Works of Toni Cade Bambara.” In Black Women Writers (1950-1980): A Critical Evaluation, edited by Mari Evans. Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1984. In discussing the importance of music in Bambara’s works, Traylor emphasizes the way in which jazz encompasses the past and present. Shows that Bambara narrators reveal the importance of ancestry in the community. Traylor points to such older characters as Miss Hazel and Bovanne in “My Man Bovanne,” Grandaddy Vale in “Gorilla, My Love,” and the bluesman in “Mississippi Ham Rider,” all of whom bring a sense of the past to the communities in which they live.