One Way to Heaven by Countée Cullen
"One Way to Heaven" by Countée Cullen is a novel that weaves two loosely connected narratives set in Harlem, reflecting the social dynamics and religious life of the 1920s and 1930s. The primary storyline centers on Sam Lucas, a charismatic yet disillusioned con man, who feigns a religious conversion at a New Year's Eve church service. His actions inadvertently inspire others, including the earnest Mattie Johnson, who believes in the sanctity of Sam's discarded gambling items, viewing them as symbols of divine grace. As Sam and Mattie marry, their relationship becomes strained due to his continued indulgence in vices and her unwavering faith, ultimately leading to Sam's realization of Mattie's true love only as he faces death.
The secondary plot satirizes the Harlem elite through the character of Constancia Brandon, who hosts social gatherings that reveal the pretentiousness and superficiality of the upper echelons of African American society. While Cullen's novel is less politically charged than his poetry, it offers a nuanced portrayal of Harlem life, exploring themes of faith, love, and societal roles. "One Way to Heaven" stands as Cullen's only novel, demonstrating his versatility as a writer and providing readers with a vibrant snapshot of a vibrant community, though it may require some contextual understanding to fully appreciate its satire.
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Subject Terms
One Way to Heaven by Countée Cullen
First published: 1932
Type of work: Social realism
Themes: Religion, love and romance, and race and ethnicity
Time of work: The 1920’s
Recommended Ages: 15-18
Locale: Harlem, New York City
Principal Characters:
Sam Lucas , a rake and a drifter, who has found a unique way to cheat people out of their moneyMattie Johnson , a beautiful dark young woman, whose life is transformed by her religious conversionAunt Mandy , Mattie’s fervently religious aunt, who places her belief equally in Jesus and in fortune-tellingConstancia Brandon , a resident of “Striver’s Row,” whose soirees attract “arty” blacks and whites alikeWalter Derwent , a member of the white literati, who guides interested writers to Constancia’s get-togethersDonald Hewitt , a young white Englishman of little literary talent, who nevertheless intends to write a book about HarlemMary, Duchess of Uganda , bornMary Johnson , a strong advocate of the Back-to-Africa movement and an accomplished oratorMrs. Harold de Peyster Johnson , a public-school teacher who uses her classroom to advance the “New Negro”
The Story
One Way to Heaven actually contains two barely related plots set in different parts of Harlem. The main story opens at the Mount Hebron African Methodist Episcopal Church on New Year’s Eve, a night when those who habitually avoid church attendance make an appearance for good luck. Squeezing into one of the crowded pews is Sam Lucas, a drifting con man with a handsome, scarred face and one arm. Sam has no use for religion, but he has no qualms about using the church for one of his favorite scams.
He sits impatiently through the various traditional parts of the service—the rousing hymns, the dramatic sermon, the impassioned testimonials. When the visiting preacher calls for new converts to come forward, Sam makes his way to the mourner’s bench at the front of the church and throws to the ground the deck of cards and the razor he has held in his pocket. The sight of this “repentant sinner” so moves the congregation that many whose hearts had previously been unmoved also make their way to the mourner’s bench in repentance.
Among those moved by Sam’s “conversion” is Mattie Johnson, a girl who has come to church many times with her Aunt Mandy, but who has never given her life to the Lord. She asks the minister—who has seen Sam pull this same trick before—for the cards and razor, which she believes to be sacred objects. When Sam and Mattie leave the church together, she has the talismans in her pocket, and his pockets are full of money pressed on him by members of the congregation.
A few days later, Sam and Mattie are married. Sam attempts to live a respectable life, but he has never held an honest job, and it takes him several weeks to look for one. While Mattie works during the day as a domestic for Constancia Brandon, Sam stays at home and teaches Mattie’s Aunt Mandy to play cards. Sam truly loves Mattie, but he is unable to live as the Christian she believes him to be. He continues to play cards, drink alcohol, and associate with sinful women, and he stops attending church almost as soon as he starts. Mattie still clings to the cards and razor, believing that they are a sign of God’s grace.
Mattie and Sam continue to drift apart, and when she embarrasses him by praying aloud in church for his repentance, he leaves her for another woman. Only when Sam lies dying of alcoholism and neglect does he realize how true Mattie’s love for him has been. He decides to deceive her one more time and fakes a scene of repentance to put her mind at ease.
The secondary story in this novel is a satirical set piece poking fun at the Harlem elite. Mattie’s employer, Constancia Brandon, conducts regular soirees in her home, drawing the brightest and most liberal members of black and white literary circles, as well as a number of curious and ambitious hangers-on. Their artificiality and overintellectualization, as well as their good humor and kindheartedness, are presented in a series of amusing vignettes.
Context
As Cullen’s only novel, One Way to Heaven demonstrated that the poet was capable of writing fiction, and it was greeted kindly by the critics. Like his translation of Euripedes’ Medea (1935), his introduction to drama, his novel was an attempt to test his literary skills in a new direction but was only moderately successful. The best of Cullen’s work is his poetry. While One Way to Heaven draws on Cullen’s life for its pictures of elite society and religious life, he does not bring into his novel the political concerns or classical allusions that inform his poems.
One Way to Heaven is one of several novels exploring life in Harlem during the 1920’s and 1930’s. Many critics have assumed that Cullen was influenced by Carl Van Vechten’s sympathetic novel, Nigger Heaven (1926), which also portrays successful African Americans living in a prosperous Harlem. Claude McKay’s Home to Harlem (1928) is also thought to have been inspired in part by Van Vechten— although both McKay and Cullen bring to their work a perspective that the white Van Vechten could not. Another important novel satirizing the Harlem elite is Wallace Thurman’s Infants of the Spring (1932). Yet where Thurman’s works tend to be severely critical of Harlem society, Cullen and the others were more affectionate and gentler in their chiding.
While young people would likely miss much of the satire in the subplot, not recognizing caricatures of African American celebrities of the 1920’s, One Way to Heaven still has much to recommend it to young readers. The vividness of description, especially in the opening scene in the church and the presentation of a black social community that manages almost to ignore its white neighbors, offers modern readers a rare and interesting glimpse into social history. In addition, Mattie’s fervent belief and the strength she draws from it may be attractive to adolescents, as would be Sam’s final heroic gesture to love.
Bibliography
Draper, James P., ed. Black Literature Criticism. 3 vols. Detroit: Gale Research, 1992. Includes an extensive biographical profile of Cullen and excerpts from criticism on his works.
Ferguson, Blanche. Countée Cullen and the Negro Renaissance. New York: Dodd, Mead: 1966. A profile of Cullen in context of the Harlem Renaissance.
Perry, Margaret. A Bio-Bibliography of Countée P. Cullen, 1903-1946. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1971. A comprehensive bibliography of primary and secondary writings by and about Cullen.
Shucard, Alan R. Countée Cullen. Boston: Twayne, 1984. Shucard provides a critical and interpretive study of Cullen with a close reading of his major works, a solid bibliography, and complete notes and references.