August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone remarkably portrays the relationship between former slaves and freeborn blacks in the early 1910s. Bynum, Loomis, and Jeremy show hope for the future – a hope that is reinforced as the play progresses. All three are on a quest for self-sufficiency, and the means to the end is most notably through song, both symbolically and literally.
Bynum defines song
Bynum first explains the importance of song during Act one: Scene one, “I chose that song because that’s what I seen most…people walking away and leaving one another. So I takes the power of my song and binds them together” (213).
The notion of binding is a recurring motif for Bynum (his name itself suggests this). Bynum views song and music as a binding force; it is a very personal, ritualistic expression of emotion that can help form one’s self-identity.
For Bynum, music and the ritual of dance are “worth taking the chance going to jail about” (220). They are important parts of a person’s psyche and are a means of expression, progression, and individuality.
Bynum inspires
In Act one: Scene four, Bynum inspires Seth, Jeremy, and the others to rise up and join in the Juba, a call and response dance reminiscent of African slavery. The Juba is interrupted by Loomis’ entry;
Loomis is enraged, and he and Bynum commence their own call and response in which Loomis describes his visions (250-253). Here, Bynum tries to get Loomis to stand up – to face his past and identity, to form his own song – but Loomis is not yet able – “My legs won’t stand up!” (253).
By responding to Loomis’ calls, Bynum is guiding him towards his song, his self-identity; for Loomis’ legs to stand up, for him to find his identity, he must accept his song.
The Juba and subsequent interaction between Bynum and Loomis – in which the two share in a blues refrain of call-and-response – allow Loomis to begin to discover his song and embody his African heritage.
Song as a catalyst for reminiscing
In Act two: Scene two, Bynum’s singing reminds Loomis of his seven years spent on Joe Turner’s chain gang; Loomis resents the song (266). Bynum explains the value of his own song: “It had come from way deep inside me... that song growing with each step of the road” (268).
Bynum at first mistook his song as his father’s, but he quickly realized that he “was making it up out of myself” (268). For Bynum to achieve self-sufficiency, he had to take responsibility for his life and not rely on his “daddy’s song”; he tells Loomis that he must do the same. Bynum tells Loomis that Joe Turner “got you bound up to where you can’t sing your own song,” but that “you still got it. You just forgot how to sing it” (270).
Loomis needs to distance himself from Joe Turner and his past, he needs to progress forward and shine in his individuality.
Loomis finds his song
Loomis eventually begins his progression in the last scene. With Bynum’s encouragement (“All you got to do is stand up and sing it, Harold Loomis…Then you be free”), Loomis confronts his past. He symbolically cleanses himself by slashing his chest with a knife; Loomis is now “free to soar above the environs that weighed and pushed his spirit into terrifying contractions” (289).
Loomis has discovered his song – his self-sufficiency – and Bynum has found his shining man.
Song as a means to an end
Jeremy also uses song and music as a means of advancement. He is an entrepreneur who takes risks and improvises as he goes – in this way, Jeremy’s life itself imitates a blues or jazz piece in-motion: he openly responds to life’s calls.
Jeremy's free-flowing nature allows him to be himself in pursuit of a content future. For example, in Act one: Scene one, Jeremy ends up in jail as a result of his guitar playing; he believes his music is worth that risk, and Bynum agrees (220).
Jeremy’s dedication to guitar and his confidence in his skills causes him to quit his job so he can “go around and play…and just enjoy life” (262).
Song builds character
While Jeremy’s story remains largely unresolved by the play’s end, his “spirit,” which earlier was described as “yet to be molded into song,” has taken shape and has provided positive results (215). Hope for Jeremy’s future is bright, as a jazz explosion is on the horizon in America.
Wilson’s characters in Joe Turner illustrate the importance of individuality and the need for advancement in spite of the time’s bleak social conditions.
Whether it was Bynum guiding Loomis to his identity, Loomis’ awareness of his song and his self, or Jeremy’s pursuit of his dreams, all three characters showed confidence and improvement.
Source:
- Wilson, August. Three Plays. Pittsburg: University of Pittsburg Press, 1984.
