The Times They Used to Be by Lucille Clifton
"The Times They Used to Be" by Lucille Clifton is a poignant narrative that captures the childhood experiences of Sylvia, an African American girl reflecting on a transformative summer in her twelfth year. The story unfolds through Sylvia's recollections as she shares significant events with her children, focusing on her relationships with her best friend, Tassie, and her Uncle Sunny, a World War II veteran. Set in a predominantly black neighborhood in 1948, the narrative explores themes of family, religion, maturity, and the harsh realities of life, including death.
As Sylvia grapples with the loss of Uncle Sunny, who tragically drowns, the story also delves into the complexities of growing up, as illustrated by Tassie's struggles with sin and the transition into womanhood. Clifton's prose is characterized by a rhythmic style that reflects black spirituals, combining poetic elements with storytelling to create vivid, relatable characters. The narrative not only offers insights into the cultural and social dynamics of the time but also highlights the broader experiences of black women. Ultimately, "The Times They Used to Be" serves as a bridge between childhood innocence and the significant life lessons that shape one's identity.
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The Times They Used to Be by Lucille Clifton
First published: 1974; illustrated
Type of work: Social realism
Themes: Religion, coming-of-age, sexual issues, the supernatural, and race and ethnicity
Time of work: 1948
Recommended Ages: 10-13
Locale: Cold Spring, a neighborhood on the outskirts of an urban area
Principal Characters:
Sylvia (Sooky) , twelve, who is the narrator of the storyTallahassie (Tassie) , thirteen, who is Sylvia’s best friendMama , Sylvia’s motherDaddy , Sylvia’s fatherUncle Sunny Jim , Mama’s younger brother, who is a World War II veteranGranny Scott , Tassie’s grandmother and legal guardian
The Story
The narrative of The Times They Used to Be is told by an adult Sylvia to her own children, who are begging to hear of their mother’s childhood. Sylvia begins by introducing the two events which, by the end of the narrative, will have changed her entire life. The reader is told that Uncle Sunny and Tassie are the principal characters in this dramatic summer of Sylvia’s twelfth year. Sylvia briefly describes the setting of the story: her family’s duplex, shared with her best friend Tassie and Granny Scott, and her Uncle Sunny’s cottage in the rear, all located in one of the predominantly black neighborhoods of the city. Sylvia describes the characters who will be important to the plot. Tassie’s father is in prison in Florida, and she has been left in the care of her grandmother. Uncle Sunny has returned from World War II, where he was a soldier in the ninety-second division, an all-black unit of the military forces.
One favorite family activity is listening to the radio and Sylvia recalls how she enjoyed the programs. She also remembers how she and Tassie would sit outside and wait for the streetlights to be turned on in the evenings. Television is relatively new in 1948, and one evening everyone goes down to the hardware store to watch through the windows: Sylvia and her neighbors are excited yet frightened.
Uncle Sunny has a peculiar habit of driving back and forth across the Grider Street bridge, and insists that he sees a nun. He says that he wants to catch her so he can return the kindness the Italian nuns showed him when he served in Europe. Mama and Daddy discuss the fact that Uncle Sunny was never baptized; therefore, he is not saved. Tassie is also not saved, and often expresses her worry that she is a sinner who will never be forgiven. Her grandmother often warns her that she must be saved or face the harsh consequences.
On the same night that Sylvia sees television for the first time, her Uncle Sunny drives off the Grider Street bridge and drowns. As his body is being readied for his funeral, Tassie insists that her body is infected by sin, and she must run away from home. Sylvia and Tassie decide that they will soon run away to Florida.
Sylvia and Tassie go to view Uncle Sunny’s body, and Granny reminds the girls that even young people die. Sylvia tells her friend that Uncle Sunny was never saved, and Tassie reacts with a shiver. She then runs to the coffin, throws herself over it, and asks to be blessed. Sylvia notices a cross-shaped bloodstain on the seat of Tassie’s pants, and rushes outside, colliding with Mama. Mama picks Tassie up, ties a scarf around her waist, and walks the two girls home. Mama explains menstruation to them, and reprimands Granny Scott for hiding the facts of puberty from Tassie.
Context
Lucille Clifton is best known as a contemporary poet who explores the issues of the black and female experiences. In The Times They Used to Be, Sylvia experiences life as both a black person and a woman. Indeed, her friend Tassie’s passage from child to woman is one of the most significant events of Sylvia’s childhood.
Clifton says that being a black woman and having a family have greatly influenced her writing. In The Times They Used to Be, Clifton explores many facets of family life: religion, maturity, and death. The character of Sylvia is a young Lucille Clifton, an adolescent black girl dealing with the realities of everyday life in the postwar era.
Like Clifton’s poetry, her fiction is autobiographical in some respects. American poetry has tended toward a more personal focus since World War II, and Clifton’s work is no exception. Her style, however, is distinguishable from that of many of her contemporaries; in it, there is a rhythm reminiscent of black spirituals. Although her style is compact, it is at the same time musical and descriptive. Her characters are vivid despite her economic use of the language. Even though Uncle Sunny, for example, appears very briefly in The Times They Used to Be, he is a fully developed and pivotal character.
Clifton creates unique children’s books by combining her poetic talents with her storytelling ability. She draws upon her experiences as a mother and wife, and uses them to construct believable stories. Several other notable poetic picture books she has written include Some of the Days of Everett Anderson (1970), Everett Anderson’s Christmas Coming (1972), and All Us Come Across the Water (1973). The simplicity of her fiction makes her books accessible to a very young audience, while the subject matter lends itself to deeper understanding.