Jamie in "The Man Child"

When I first read “The Man Child,” I was quite surprised by the ending where Jamie kills Eric. I didn't expect anything so drastic to happen. But, as we discussed this story in class, I realized that Baldwin gives the reader several clues as to what might happen.
Jamie, when first introduced, is portrayed as a nice, but at the same time mysterious, character. He’s Eric’s father’s best friend and owns a dog that's always with him. After the initial description though, there are some details that make him seem odd. For example, Eric notices that Jamie has “the kind of eyes which no one had ever looked into” (Baldwin 62). This comment makes it seems like Jamie is distant or unapproachable (at least to Eric), which is weird considering the fact that he spends so much time at Eric's house. Also, it's mentioned that Jamie once had a wife, but she “had run away” (Baldwin 63). Other than this, no further explanation is given by the narrator. This suggests that there might have been something about Jamie that scared her. Together, these two facts make Jamie a character that the reader should look out for.
Additionally, Eric’s father and Jamie don’t seem to have a very close relationship, despite the fact that they’ve been friends for a very long time. Instead, Jamie is treated more like a child by Eric’s parents. During the party, Jamie is scolded for playing with the og while they’re eating dinner by both of Eric’s parents, even though the dog is his. Eric’s father also has a tendency to push Jamie too far. At the birthday party, their conversation is more of an interrogation than it is two friends talking to each other. Eric’s father asks questions about marriage, his old wife, children, and the farm, none of which Jamie has the answers to. Eventually, Jamie can’t take it anymore and yells “What the hell do you care care what’s the matter with me! What the hell have you been riding me for all day like this? What do you want?” (Baldwin 70). He starts crying and even slaps his dog. This is the first time we see Jamie get angry and become violent, making it seem quite possible that he could have another violent outburst.
By the end, Jamie is no longer able to control himself and lets out all his anger and jealousy on Eric. Jamie is jealous of the fact that Eric’s father has everything he doesn’t—a wife, a son, and lots of farmland. Originally I was confused as to why he would hurt Eric instead of his father. But, it makes sense because it would hurt Eric’s father a lot more if Jamie killed Eric. Also, Eric’s father would not be able to hold it over Jamie’s head for not having a son anymore. After this incident, Eric’s father will have no one to pass his land on to either. This is important to Jamie, as he comments that “this land...will belong to no one” (Baldwin 79). By killing Eric, Jamie has stopped the progression of this family, leaving Eric’s father with little purpose.
Although the ending was a surprise for me, a closer reading of this story reveals that, from the beginning, Jamie was bound to do something like this.

Comments

  1. Kathryn DullerudMarch 16, 2018 at 11:19 PM

    I don't necessarily agree that because they seem to "treat Jamie like a child" during the party means they do most of the time. I think it makes sense to treat him this way because, frankly put, he's drunk: if your kid is around a belligerent drunk, you would probably want your friend to keep it under control. I think Jamie is still the man child, but not because he's treated like one.

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  2. Arielle SummittMarch 17, 2018 at 1:18 PM

    I completely agree that Eric's death is just a culmination of everything that happens earlier in the story: Jamie's wife running away, losing his land, and especially the way Eric's father treats him. In fact, I think that the thing that pushed Jamie over the edge is Eric's father constantly reminding him of all the ways he's failed at life, so to speak. It makes me really angry and sad that Eric has to pay for his father's mistakes at the end.

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  3. LindsayMarch 17, 2018 at 2:18 PM

    Although Jamie and Eric's father are supposed to be 'friends', I never got that impression during the story. If I reread the birthday party scene without knowing the relationship between the two characters, I would have thought that Jamie and Eric's father hated each other. Because of the power dynamic between the two, Eric's father seems to know that he can insult and toy with Jamie without facing any repercussions. To everyone's surprise though, Jamie seems to have been pushed too far and finally decides to 'retaliate', in a way.

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  4. UnknownMarch 17, 2018 at 9:38 PM

    I agree that from the beginning it seemed like Jamie was getting ready to snap. However, I never expected for him to kill Eric. To me it would make much more sense for Jamie to kill Eric's father or even his mother. But once you explained the context to passing on the land, it made a ton more sense. I think that during a first read this story is a bit confusing but when you unravel it like you have in this blog post it you almost can understand why Jamie killed Eric.

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