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readingwhilemommying 's review for:
A Lucky Man
by Jamel Brinkley
Just a note that I've only the title story, "A Lucky Man." I'm reading a short story a day for 2020 and this story was yesterday's story.
It’s interesting how this story touches on some of the issues we’re seeing debated in the national conversation right now. Lincoln Murray, a family man, is on the NYC subway on his way to work as a security guard at a predominantly white school. On the way there, he clandestinely takes a picture of a younger woman’s face while on the subway. We find out he has 60 pictures of random women’s faces on his phone and his wife found them and has left him because of it. While at school, his coworker says Lincoln is a “lucky man” because his wife’s so great. After he finds out that she has left Lincoln, he suggests Lincoln go home early.
While walking home, Lincoln passes an all-girls elementary school. While trying to respond to a text his daughter, Tameka, has sent him, a white woman standing nearby accuses him of taking pictures of the little girls with his phone. She calls him a pervert and he hurries away when she demands to see his phone. While walking, he deletes all 60 of the pictures of female faces he has. When he gets home to his daughter, he tells her what happened but admits to us readers that he ended up lying to her about what really happened.
This story speaks to a black man who’s wrongly accused of doing something that he didn’t do by a white woman (similar to today’s discussions about systemic racism)...but, in this case, he did do it, just not in the sense that she accuses him of. Lincoln might not have taken pictures of the young girls in lewd ways, but his phone does have 60 pictures of women’s faces. Pictures he took that they did not consent to. The false accusation against him does seem to shock him into realizing that the excuse he’s made before for his predilection--that they're just faces, not other body parts--is no excuse. So while he loves his wife and daughter, at the same time he doesn’t treat other women as he treats the women close to his heart. It’s also surprising that--after seeming to be so upset about being accused of being a pervert that he deletes the pictures he does have--he lies to his daughter about what happened. This story examines race, masculinity, family, and mens’ attitudes toward women. If you’re looking for a story that brings up some interesting and prevalent issues, check this one out.
It’s interesting how this story touches on some of the issues we’re seeing debated in the national conversation right now. Lincoln Murray, a family man, is on the NYC subway on his way to work as a security guard at a predominantly white school. On the way there, he clandestinely takes a picture of a younger woman’s face while on the subway. We find out he has 60 pictures of random women’s faces on his phone and his wife found them and has left him because of it. While at school, his coworker says Lincoln is a “lucky man” because his wife’s so great. After he finds out that she has left Lincoln, he suggests Lincoln go home early.
While walking home, Lincoln passes an all-girls elementary school. While trying to respond to a text his daughter, Tameka, has sent him, a white woman standing nearby accuses him of taking pictures of the little girls with his phone. She calls him a pervert and he hurries away when she demands to see his phone. While walking, he deletes all 60 of the pictures of female faces he has. When he gets home to his daughter, he tells her what happened but admits to us readers that he ended up lying to her about what really happened.
This story speaks to a black man who’s wrongly accused of doing something that he didn’t do by a white woman (similar to today’s discussions about systemic racism)...but, in this case, he did do it, just not in the sense that she accuses him of. Lincoln might not have taken pictures of the young girls in lewd ways, but his phone does have 60 pictures of women’s faces. Pictures he took that they did not consent to. The false accusation against him does seem to shock him into realizing that the excuse he’s made before for his predilection--that they're just faces, not other body parts--is no excuse. So while he loves his wife and daughter, at the same time he doesn’t treat other women as he treats the women close to his heart. It’s also surprising that--after seeming to be so upset about being accused of being a pervert that he deletes the pictures he does have--he lies to his daughter about what happened. This story examines race, masculinity, family, and mens’ attitudes toward women. If you’re looking for a story that brings up some interesting and prevalent issues, check this one out.