Tally's Corner: a Study of Negro Streetcorner Men (legacies of Social Thought)

This novel, written by Dr. Eliot Liebow, he seeks to go and try to understand the lives of some particular urban Negro men or “Streetcorner Men” and how they are affect by society and the lifestyle they are force to endure. He talks about in his second chapter “Men and Jobs”, the issues, subjective and structural, that restrict these “Streetcorner Men” from getting free from the bondage of their weakened lifestyles, this quote from the reading really justifies this ideology, Liebow states “What lies behind the response to the driver in the pick up truck, Then is a complex combination of attitudes and assessments” (Liebow, 44).

Liewbow also seeks to relate his rejection to the ideological and structural factors that these men have been molded by too continue to follow the path of avoidance, rather than inputing rejection of work to laziness, and to not let them think of the disappointments they have created for their families. This is the reason why in the book the “men wouldn’t take the job even it was handed to them on a platter” (Liebow 33).

Just like any job with a white man offering a basic days work to the street corner men, the pick up truck, its slowly reminds them that they will continuously be stuck in this vicious cycle of dissatisfaction and alienation. They still wouldn’t break this ongoing cycle and take the offer of the white man, instead they see this as another chance to grip the hands of failure rather than kissing success. The “Streetcorner” is all that these men have that allows them to feel the slightest bit of comfort in their lives, seeing how men are a little adrift. Thinking in terms of an ideological viewpoint, these men use the success that they lack as a factor that keeps them unified. You wont hear them encouraging each other to do better for themselves (like to care for their families, get jobs, etc.), in other words these men use the street corner and all of their struggles to link with one another. They will never see the pick up trucks as an opportunity but view it as sort of a threat, a demeaning gesture knowing that they may not be able to take care of their families even if they accept the pick up truck job. These “streetcar” men sort of deprive one another and themselves, to the naked eyes it is hard to understand them but there is much more to decode about these men and their lack of being successful. In the book Liebow analyzes a certain mentality that the street corner men had adapted to, the mentality that they will always be rejected. This isn’t their fault thought, he blames this sort of adopted mentality on the structures and limitations of their surroundings. This is a generational effect, the people they watched before them had been through the same “imprisonment” of the “streetcorner” life. These men accept the untold truth that there may never be a way out. It in there DNA, it’s what describes them, part of their characteristics and they are to only ones who can stand up and try to fight against them. The world sees them as failures in society and unintentionally intentionally restricts their successes. Liebow states that “The job and man are even, the job fails the man and the man fails the job” (Liebow 39).

In the chapter “Lovers and Exploiters” the book seeks and understanding of relationships In the lives of these men and the women in society. The streetcorner men don’t look for these relationships to be fruitful, but only as ways of income, somewhat of an asset. These men seek relationships as means of success. The Streetcorner men, not working or getting employed and taking care of his “wife”, start to classify marrying an employed women as a fundamental mean of success, giving the woman they married the title of the “breadwinner”, the one who bring the income into the house. It’s because of the continuous failure that the streetcorner men are subjected to that these kind of relationships even exist in their society. They refuse to judge and suitable wife based on looks, love, and how they make them feel, but on what benefits come from being with them. The sad part is that this way of thinking only restrains their growths and their chances of changing their way of life. The Streetcorner men are often viewed as contradictions to themselves. They mostly view male and female relationships and a temporary financial solution, nothing more, but view themselves as rational, and their view of their relationships being correct and just. These men often brag to one another about themselves if there in a strong relationship, “She aint pretty but her job is beautiful” (Liebow 90).

Until and individual separates hisself form the streetcorner he will never know the true meaning of a strong relationship. They feel empty, like a ship with no sail, he may have a successful wife but lacks a true spouse, a friend. These men don’t even understand the feeling of natural emotion, real intimacy. They do nothing but hurt each other and hold each other back, all due to the streetcorner mentality. A great example is the letters that Leroy wrote to Charlene, even though he loved her a lot, he took what they had for granted. After Leroy let the the streetcorner he understood that he failed in life.

Liebow states in his final chapter “At the Moment his Streetcorner relationships take precedence over his wife and children he comes into his full inheritance bequeathed him by his parents, teachers, employers and society at large.” (Liebow 138). He seeks to interpret the role the street corner has on the poor old negros, and the very impact it has on the men. The streetcorner is an inside world according to Liewbow, “The inside world and the larger society surrounding it” (Liebow 137). The lifestyle away from the corner is a completely different one, their values and means of living are only products of the environment they are subjected to and these men are completely aware of this. What they were taught by their parents, teachers, and the society of the corner, the streecorner men all understand the society of the community. They know that they must take in their failures, and that obtaining goals doesn’t come easy they must work, and most importantly they know that handling your obligations will allow you to be able to provide for your family. With trials and tribulations at home, and more in the community, and the fault of their family member before them, the negro new on the streetcorner understand that the streetcorner is home and has never been taken away or abandoned them. They love the streetcorner even while they know they must get away, it’s always a light in a dim place.