Introduction
Van Veshten in his book, Nigger Heaven, presents a challenge in understanding the basic purpose for writing and publishing such a book. Conflicts are present in this book in various aspects depending on the reader’s culture, understanding, artistic knowledge and background. A person may take a different view on the book depending on his or her basic understanding of cultural comparison between the Americans and the African Americans in America.
Hence, readers will embrace their grounds on the conflicting cultural matters depending on their background values or their understanding of the writer’s principles. There are cultural conflicts in this book; however, the basic argument of the conflict is based on the reader’s point of view.
The first and most common cultural conflict in this book involves the title of the book. The term Nigger is considered as an insult when used by an American person. Thus, it is not correct for a white writer to use Nigger Heaven as a title while addressing the African Americans (Vechten, Carl 31).
On the other hand, the term Negro is normally used by the African-Americans when addressing each other. With this point of view, the purpose of Carl Van Vechten using Nigger Heaven as a tittle for his book creates a conflicting cultural argument by itself. There are two possibilities which could explain the reason for such a title (Vechten, Carl 77). The writer was either undermining the African American culture and practice or the writer considered himself as part of the African American community to get the right of using such a title.
The writing of this book also brings out cultural disintegration creating conflict on the American land in the early days of depression concerning American and African American cultural differences. Upon the publication of this book, it generated a wide range of controversy with the tittle attracting massive attension (Vechten, Carl 34).
The book raised curiosity to various readers to understand the base of the materials provided in the book concerning the African American culture. However, despite heavy controversy in the tittle of the book, materials in the book may present a completely different story with regards to the African Americans’ professional ambitions and middle-class respectability. The book further explains the African Americans’ high level of consciousness on matters relating to racial and class identity (Vechten, Carl 49).
The content of the book goes further to establish cultural complications in describing the activities of the African Americans in Harlem city. Firstly, the writer recognizes the diversity of moral setup in the city as he describes various activities taking places (Vechten, Carl 123). The upper class socialists of the city segregates themselves in specifically selected rooms to discuss matters related to their cultural art. The book also describes another group of immoral and irresponsible African Americans who spend all nights in night jazz clubs and speakeasy.
On the other hand, young intellectuals get together to discuss politics and the racial problem they face as a community. All these activities happen along as a young couple tries to fix their relationship in environment of tough racial disintegration (Vechten, Carl 98). All these aspects provide a culturally conflicting environment. On one hand, there are the evil aspects of the African American community being described; on the other hand, there is little description randomly spread within the book of the positive facts of Harlem.
Van Vechten in his book intentionally or otherwise ignores the life of average African Americans living in Harlem, he mainly describe the extremes of the society who depict the fall out in cultural differences. The writer is able to explain all activities taking place in Harlem at night which also raises questions about his moral stand point.
Other writers describe Van Vechten as an immoral character. Thus, his high level of interest in activities taking place in Harlem especially at night raises curiosity on his real purpose for Harlem (Vechten, Carl 67). Van Vechten had come to know almost all popular people in Harlem. This included young writers and civil rights leaders. In addition, Van Vechten could lead slumming visitors through Harlem over night voluntary.
He also helped young African American writers in their writing career. He also played a key role in breaking the racial barriers by inviting his colored friends to his house for parties. These points raise racial and cultural conflicts and the main purpose for writing this book (Vechten, Carl 76).
The book shows a differing cultural view point the elites and the low class dwellers of Harlem. The activities described to be taking place at night in Harlem also introduce a moral conflict between the old and young occupants of Harlem. These activities describes a situation of cultural breakdown on the African American culture as view by the young elites, active immoral youth and mature Harlem dwellers (Vechten, Carl 22).
The book Nigger Heaven was a blow in the face of African Americans culture and moral believes. It presented the truth of actions as they were taking place in Harlem. Most African Americans refused to embrace the issue of irony in the tittle of the book and viewed this as an insult to their hospitality from the writer.
However, this truth could be seen as a plan to demean the colored community living in New York. The display of event as indicated in the book shows moral degradation for the African Americans in Harlem (Vechten, Carl 56). In addition, the book could be seen as betrayal by Van Vechten to his African American friends by degrading their cultural values based on the actions of a few stray individuals.
Given the fact that he was close and related well with the African American society, his book could be seen as a betrayal of the relationship. However, some African Americans agreed that the book was addressing facts the African American community was hiding. Some African Americans still felt that this was a good book as it contained facts of the activities in Harlem. Weldon Johnson supported this book for being the first book from an American novelist to display the African American culture without apologies and reservations (Vechten, Carl 233).
Van Veshten expressed two aspects of the society for which he is writing. These aspects include the work of art through culture and a declaration of the moral statement. These two aspects are conflicting with each other from the African American point of view. The details he provides about the lifestyle of Harlem shows a different motive for his visit and interactions with the people of Harlem.
The book presents a critical attack on the educated and ambitious people of Harlem. The book presents a pathetic picture for Harlemite intellectuals (Vechten, Carl 95). The American environment looked down upon the intellectuals in the African American community. However, the situation is worse when an American writes about this in his book.
Van Veshten in this book was expressing facts within the African American society on matters relating to their cultural lifestyle. However, it is important for the readers to establish the history of Harlem before reading the book as this will help the reader to establish proper background knowledge.
The readers should also have sufficient knowledge of the relationship between the writer and the Harlem dwellers at the time of writing the book as this would help the reader to understand where the writer stands on the cultural issues he has written. Many people are never ready to embrace the truth especially when the truth hurts; this is why the book faces a lot of critics from Harlem dwellers (Vechten, Carl 324). Thus, the book provided a conflict on matters relating to the African American culture.
Works Cited
Vechten, Carl. Nigger heaven. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2000. Print.