Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward

After studying the Greeks and Augustine's Confessions in our Great Books Redux, we were assigned to read Men We Reaped (MWR) by Jesmyn Ward. I was curious to understand how it deserved skipping Virgil's Aeneid, Dante's Divine Comedy and Milton's Paradise Lost. Great Books are typified by a combination of artistry and thought that become multi-generational touchstones. Part of the journey to become a Great Book is to stand the test of time, while MWR was written in 2013. So it's not an insult to say that MWR is not a Great Book - nothing written in the past 50 years qualifies.

MWR is a personal and intimate processing of grief. Jesmyn Ward beautifully and powerfully describes the gender tendencies of her community in southern Mississippi. She shows how these women operate as strong and forceful, but are frustrated while their men operate as freedom seekers, but are resentful. The central story around her family unit is direct yet poignant, particularly about her father and mother and brother. 

As a way of grieving her brother's death, this work succeeds as a memoir in trying to arrive at an answer. She capably contextualizes her family dynamics within a larger, darker setting, masterfully indicating a certain passivity and an inability to alter directions. As a result, no personal accountability is given to men, while for herself and the women, there is no limit to the demands and expectations to be met. An image of the larger context is wooded within which lurks an all-devouring wolf .

MWR is weakest as an attempt to capture "systemic racism." Part of its failure is a lack of balance. Never are moments of systemic supports allowed to shine, such as those involved in her life-saving start as a preemie baby or the family which provides funding for her to attend a high quality private school. Nor are there any indications where personal responsibility might play a part. This limits the long run appeal of this as a universal work. Further on an artistic note, the author uses a cumbersome reverse chronological order within a chronological sequence - losing power and comprehension.

So why was this work included? There's no real "arc" of change as it's unrelenting in its misery. The work is linear - in much the same sense as a holocaust narration. My thought is that our class comes from the University of North Carolina - a state with a history of racial horrors. Not being from North Carolina, I think I sometimes forget how awful that legacy is for those from Southern states. I think the inclusion of MWR is the class's attempt to bear witness to the atrocities committed and honor and abide with most those directly impacted.