Customer Reviews

The Sport of the Gods (Signet Classics)

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Paul Laurence Dunbar's novel "The Sport of the Gods" describes the experiences of an African-American family in the years following the abolition of slavery. According to the introduction by William L. Andrews in the Signet Classic edition of the novel, "Sport" first appeared in "Lippincott's" magazine in 1901 and was published in book form a year later.

After a disturbing turn of events, the Hamilton family leaves their home in the southern U.S. and makes their way to New York City, where they try to start a new life. But the pressures of urban life have serious consequences for each member of the family.

"Sport" is a story about injustice, innocence, and temptation. As he follows this family's story, Dunbar looks at many different relationships: parent/child, husband/wife, black/white, etc. Particularly interesting is his look at the relationship between the media reporter and those who are the object of media reports. The book also presents an ironic view of artists and their connection to larger society.

"Sport" is a dark, moralistic tale. Although the characterizations are fairly shallow, Dunbar's narrative moves along effectively. I actually found the most intriguing character to be Skaggs, a white reporter for a "yellow" newspaper. This novel serves as an ironic complement to those slave autobiographies (such as the "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass") which depict a flight to the north as a liberating experience; the north in "Sport" is a cold, amoral place full of dangers for black people. Overall, this is a compelling book that I regard as a significant milestone in African-American literature.

Please disregard the comments on the review below. To begin with, "The Sport of the Gods" is not a commentary on the mid 90's! It is a novel from the early 20th century about the hardships of the negro race in the northern urban areas (NY in this case). The novel is a bit harsh in its depiction of prejudice but that is precisely what makes it most compelling. The lack of hope presented in it is a social commentary about both the white and the black trying to rise up from slavery. In general the book is excellent, sad at some points, funny at others, but mainly it is one of the jewels of American literature which needs to be read by all regardless of ethnicity.

Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 -- 1906)is best remembered as a poet. He wrote in both dialect and formal English. His famous poems include "We wear the mask", "Sympathy", which includes the line "I know why the caged bird sings", and "Frederick Douglass". Dunbar wrote prolifically during his short life, with an output that included essays, journalism, plays, short stories as well as poetry. Dunbar was also a novelist. His final effort in this form "The Sport of the Gods" (1902) remains an impressive work, a minor classic of American literature.

Dunbar's novel describes the fate of an African American family, the Hamiltons, which is forced to move from its home in the deep South (the particular State is not named) to New York City. The Hamiltons had seemingly achieved a degree of success and stability in the post-Civil War South. The father, Berry, had worked as a butler for a prosperous plantation owner, Oakley, for many years. Berry had lived frugally, and managed to save money. His wife, Fannie, also had a good job working as a housekeeper for the Oakleys. The couple had two children, Joe, 18, a barber to white people who had become a dandy, and Kitty, 16, her mother's darling. The peaceful life of the family comes to a startling end when Oakley falsely accuses Berry Hamilton of stealing. Berry is sentenced to ten years in prison. His family is ostracized by whites and blacks alike. Fannie, Joe, and Kitty move to New York City to find a new life for themselves.

The heart of this novel lies in Dunbar's descriptions of the underside of New York City life -- the hustlers, bars, tawdry shows, raw music, and loose women -- that spell doom to the newcomers from the South. Much of the action takes place in a nightclub called "The Banner", frequented by African Americans and by a class of whites who, then as in later times, practiced what is now termed "slumming". Dunbar has no affection or sentimenality for "The Banner" or its ilk. He writes: "[O]f course, the place was a social cesspool, generating a poisonous miasma and reeking with the stench of decayed and rotten moralities. There is no defense to be made for it. But what do you expect when false idealism and fevered ambition come face to face with catering cupidity?" Some of the frequenters of the banner include a con-man and raconteur named Sadness, the best-drawn character in Dunbar's book, a chorus girl named Hattie, and William Thomas, a railway worker with designs on young Kitty.

The destruction of the Hamilton family proceeds naturally and inexorably in this environment and becomes "The Sport of the Gods". Joe quickly takes to drink and becomes involved with Hattie. When she puts him out, Joe kills her and is sentenced to prison. Kitty succumbs to Thomas's advances and ultimately finds herself working in a vulgar chorus line. Fannie is persuaded by a gambler and criminal that her husband's long imprisonment is equivalent to a divorce. She marries him and endures and abusive relationship.

For all his negativity towards it, Dunbar offers an effective portrayal of early African American life in New York City, particularly its music. For the most part, the book is written in a bleak, naturalistic tone which reminded me of Stephen Crane's "Maggie", a somewhat earlier work about the effect of a slum environment in the destruction of lives. After Joe's imprisonment, the patrons of "The Banner", including Sadness, reflect upon his fate and upon the fate of young Southern blacks moving to New York:

"This was but for an hour, for even while they exclaimed they knew that there was no way, and that the stream of young negro life would continue to flow up from the South, dashing itself against the hard necessities of the city and breaking like waves against a rock, -- that until the gods grew tired of their cruel sport, there must still be sacrifices to false ideals and unreal ambitions."

Readers looking for high-quality writing that remains somewhat off-the- beaten path should explore Dunbar and this novel. He remains an author worth remembering and reading. "The Sport of the Gods" raises themes that would be developed in American literature throughout the 20th Century, especially in works written by African Americans. It is a short, bleak and effective novel by an American poet.

Robin Friedman

Have you ever wanted to yell out to the heroes of your favorite movie "DON'T DO THAT YOU IDIOT!!"? This book is sometimes frustrating because you, the reader, can see where the plot is going and want so badly to help the story's characters avoid what seems to be the inevitable. A naturalistic picture of life, and an often-missed text which deserves more attention. It doesn't make you feel good-- but it does make you want to be sure that people have choices, that this sort of thing isn't allowed to happen, that life isn't a series of "sport" that the gods (a vindictive type of gods) play with us. Powerful, powerful writing, vivid details and characters you just want to smack. Read it!

My point being if we're going to require our nation's youth to read Huckleberry Finn in public schools, it is a shame that this book is often left off of the course syllabus. Perhaps because African-American literature doesn't receive as much attention as it should expains this oversight, but regardless of which authors you consider early American classic writers, this book will appeal to all demographics.

An interesting story revolving around a black family that is forced out of the South after being falsely accused of crime. The story is a narrative of their actions and reactions to a new lifestyle in urban New York City. Great philosphical moments such as the bartender teaching the young man the ropes of life.

An interesting and quick read. It's hard to put down this book down.

I am currently teaching a first-year English composition class. I wanted the class to read a novel that could be read in a relatively short period of time and would be easy to follow. I first read Dunbar's The Sport of the Gods my first year of grad school. I thought it was a good book and wanted to share with my students. Dunbar's piece is an excellent piece of historical fiction. It follows a family's plight during America's Reconstruction era. A good choice for literature courses or for personal reading.

I need to say that I read the latter portion of this book from the Paul Lawrence Dunbar Reader. I really enjoyed this story even though it was quite melancholy. The story of a falsely accused butler, Berry Hamilton, stealing money from his Southern employer, Maurice Oakley. Of course Hamilton was sent to jail without much of a thought and his family had to leave town.

The family which consisted of Fannie(wife), Kit(daughter), and Joe(son) all made their way north to New York. When they arrived they were immediately confronted with the smooth talkers and wonders of the city. Fannie tried to keep somewhat of a grip on her children but it soon wilted. The "city" had much more appeal than Fannie's moral cautions. Fannie lost her grip on Joe first. The Banner Club and it's patrons feed his strong desire to fit in with the City. Kit's appetite for the stage blinded her relationship with her mother. They all soon forgot about Berry being in prison. Skagg's a Banner patron that had befriended Joe sought out to find a story and found the truth.

The story is about how unfortunate circumstances and how the refuge of a new city ate away at a family like a parasite. The book ended in tragedy and redemption. Dunbar is so gentle with his characters. His gentleness makes the tragedy go down a little easier.

This novel is wonderfully written and profound in its message. Dunbar's prose is as excellent as his poetry. A must-read classic for high schoolers and undergraduates. Would make a wonderful juxtaposition alongside today's street lit.

My point being if we're going to require our nation's youth to read Huckleberry Finn in public schools, it is a shame that this book is often left off of the course syllabus. Perhaps because African-American literature doesn't receive as much attention as it should expains this oversight, but regardless of which authors you consider early American classic writers, this book will appeal to all demographics.

An interesting story revolving around a black family that is forced out of the South after being falsely accused of crime. The story is a narrative of their actions and reactions to a new lifestyle in urban New York City. Great philosphical moments such as the bartender teaching the young man the ropes of life.

An interesting and quick read. It's hard to put down this book.

In this book, I believe Paul Laurence Dunbar used fictional characters to protray his thoughts about how the black race was thought of in the mid-1990s. He was accalimed for his way of bringing concern to the topic of racial discrimination through writing. The novel kept me interested, but wasn't something to make a movie out of.