He Waits for Them to Wheel Out Dinner

J. Sutter is a reporter from New York who is sent to West Virginia to cover a festival. The festival is celebrating the issue of a John Henry commemorative stamp. John Henry was a famous railroad worker who died trying to prove that man is as strong as machine. J., however, does not care about John Henry. Or the festival. He simply wants to write his article and return to New York as soon as possible. He finds West Virginia and the festival all very quaint and entirely below him. He expresses more interest in roast beef than in the topic at hand. J. plans on simply excreting an essay and maybe inserting a quote into the mass. No research into John Henry or the planning behind the festival necessary. The plot thickens when it is revealed that J. is the only black man attending the festival. There is a black woman present but J. does not know her. J. feels uneasy about his status but tries to seem nonchalant about it by drinking and laughing with other reporters. When a woman at the event smiles at him too frequently, he assumes it is “some kind of overcompensation for slavery.”

The environment at the festival is one of pettiness. People in attendance worry very much about sitting at the right table and being with the right people. “Guests staked claims for their parties, planting flags of purses and jackets, saving seats, savoring or ruing their place in the pecking order.” One man begins to remove his coat but puts it back on when he sees that all of his friends still have theirs on. Alphonse, a stamp collector, is beside himself with anxiety and self-consciousness. He has come into West Virginia just for the festival and knows no one. He frets about dinner and who will sit with him. After he discovers a mothball in his pocket, he worries that everyone can smell it. He tries to start a conversation with Pamela, the only black woman at the dinner, and inadvertently insults her when he tries to relate to her. Most of those in attendance, like J., do not seem to care about John Henry or his stamp. Others just seem to care about their appearance and rank.