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The Blacker the Berry · Chapters

Chapters explained

Chapter companions for The Blacker the Berry by Wallace Thurman.

  1. Chapter 1

    Dedication

    The book is dedicated to 'Ma Jack'.

  2. Chapter 2

    Epigraph

    The epigraph presents a Negro folk saying contrasting skin color with sweetness, followed by a line from Countee Cullen expressing that the speaker's color envelops them, setting a thematic tone of internal conflict and identity.

  3. Chapter 3

    The Blacker the Berry

    The opening chapter introduces Emma Lou Morgan, a young Black woman who is deeply conscious of her dark skin color and the prejudice she faces from lighter-skinned members of her own community. Set in her hometown, the chapter establishes her internalized shame and the colorism that pervades her family and social environment, setting the stage for her quest for belonging and identity.

  4. Chapter 4

    Part I: Emma Lou

    Emma Lou Morgan, a dark-skinned Black girl, graduates from a predominantly white high school in Boise, feeling deeply self-conscious about her complexion. She reflects on her family's color prejudice and her mother's regret that she wasn't born a boy. After graduation, her family debates her future; her Uncle Joe persuades them to send her to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, hoping a larger city will offer broader social opportunities. Upon arrival, Emma Lou is awed by the large Black community but quickly encounters intraracial prejudice when she meets Hazel Mason, a loud, dark-skinned student she finds embarrassing. Later, while trying to connect with a group of Black students on campus, she is met with mockery and rejection, except for a brief smile from Verne Davis. The chapter also recounts the story of her step-grandfather Aloysius McNamara, a light-skinned man who despised dark-skinned Blacks and eventually abandoned the family.

  5. Chapter 5

    Part II: Harlem

    Emma Lou awakens after a brief affair with John, reflecting on her first five weeks in Harlem. She visits an employment agency and then the real estate office of Angus and Brown, where she is politely but firmly turned away for a job. Walking the streets of Harlem, she confronts her own color prejudice and the harsh realities of her new life.

  6. Chapter 6

    Part III: Alva

    Emma Lou, now working as a maid for actress Arline Strange, spirals into self-hatred and obsessive attempts to lighten her skin. She recalls past rejections due to her dark complexion and becomes consumed by a desire to find a mysterious, well-dressed man she danced with. After a failed job search, she returns to work and is invited to Small's Paradise by Arline and her brother, despite having never been to a cabaret.

  7. Chapter 7

    Part IV: Rent Party

    Emma Lou's relationship with Alva deteriorates as her color obsession strains their interactions. Alva takes her to a rent party with writers and artists, but she feels insulted by a cabaret performance. Meanwhile, Geraldine reveals she is pregnant with Alva's child and moves into his apartment, deepening Emma Lou's insecurity and jealousy.

  8. Chapter 8

    Part V: Pyrrhic Victory

    Emma Lou, now a teacher in Harlem, struggles with isolation and suspicion among her lighter-skinned colleagues, who gossip about her heavy makeup rather than her dark skin. Living with Alva and caring for his son Alva Junior, she endures his neglect and drunkenness, realizing she has been used. She reflects on her lifelong color-consciousness, tracing it back to childhood, and decides to take the teachers' exam. Despite her efforts, she remains trapped in a toxic relationship and alienated from the community.