Class Reading- Hokum, Dirty Deceivers

For today's class reading we were assigned Chester Himes's Dirty Deceivers. I found this story extremely interesting. First, I found it intriguing that a person was considered a "Negro" if they had even a "drop of blood" of Negro in them. I found myself contrasting this to modern times. I can't imagine what it would be like to completely judge a persons character and worth on the color of their skin. I have always been exposed to many different cultures. My father is Jewish and my mother is Korean. As I read this story, I realized that if my mom and dad had met in the 40's or 50's they would have probably never been married. Although it is still not extremely common to have interracial marriages, I do think that it is at least accepted. Additionally, I found that it sad and humorous at the same time that they each when up to Harlem to enjoy their heritage and culture. In the case of my family, my parents and their families have been able to teach each other so much about their individual cultures. I think that it adds a bit excitement to their relationship because they get to partake in the good and bad traditions and customs from each persons families.

The humor in this story can be found in the extreme irony. As I mentioned earlier, I found it humorous that they had to work so hard to avoid each other while they were both just doing the same exact thing. Also, it was ironic that they both developed extreme prejudice against Negros and separated themselves from them as possible. The irony increases in this situation because it makes the other partner feel even more nervous and stressed about covering up their heritage. Lupe even goes so far as to say that Ferdinand would kill her if he ever found out the truth. But, the greatest irony is found at the end of the story. After they discover the truth about the others race they become blissfully happy. However, this doesn't last long. They become bored and feel betrayed by the other, even though they were also the betrayer. They completely stopped talking, and eventually filed for divorce under false pretenses.