Why, You Reckon

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Why, You Reckon?
By Langston Hughes Analysis of short story by
Jarvis Tutt, Octavia Miller, Jessica Sims-Green
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Summary
In Langston Hughes Why you Reckon?, the story
starts off with a black man walking down a street
in Harlem. As he was walking another black man
approached him and asked him, do you want to
make a little extra jack or some money and the
guy replied yea. They plotted to grab a white
man later that night when the white people
usually came to club in Harlem. That night a
group of white people came and one of the ladies
left her purse in the car and asked Edward, a
white guy who was with her, to go back and get
it. As he was coming back from the car, the two
black guys grabbed him and put Edward in a
basement.
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While in the basement the black guy who
masterminded the plan took the white guys fur
coat, wallet, the ladys purse, the guys shoes,
and his watch. They all sat down there laughing
when the black guy with all the belongings left
the other guy and Edward down in the basement.
In the end the second black guy that helped out
didnt get any of the goods and Edward had
nothing. Then Edward asked to leave and said
that was the best time that hed ever had in
Harlem.
Summary cont.
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Characters
Narrator (black guy 1)- He is very poor and is
not educated. We can assume he is living on the
streets. He is respectful, well mannered, and
easily persuaded.
Black Guy 2- He is tricky and deceitful. He is
very poor and his grammar also informs us that he
is not educated.
Edward Peedee McGill, III- He is a wealthy white
kid whos wealth doesn't satisfy him.
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1. The title of Why, you Reckon?" is significant
because they are asking the question why can a
wealthy person be so unhappy.
2. The story is told through first person. The
narrator is unnamed and he is reliable because it
is one of his life experiences that is being
told.
3. In the beginning of the story two young black
men are not happy because they are famished and
they are poor. The author focuses on the two men
being unhappy with themselves because they dont
have the means to survive.
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3. As we come to the end of the story we notice
that Edward, the young white man, is also
unhappy. The author focuses on Edward having
wealth and still being unsatisfied with life.
4. The main character of the story does not
transform when the story concludes. In the
beginning of the story he is poor and starving.
At the end, he still doesn't have any money and
he is still starving. His thoughts transformed
because he began to notice his own weaknesses,
such as his gullibility and the idea of
happiness.
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5. The major theme of the story is, Money cant
buy you happiness. This idea comes from the
narrator he states, What do you suppose is the
matter with rich white folks? Why you reckon
they aint happy? From the outside looking in,
we see rich people and we assume they are very
happy. The truth is that money want buy you
happiness. Money will only buy you material
things but it want buy you confidence, love, and
or self respect.
The minor theme of the story is that the small
things in life can make you as happy as having
the larger things in life. Some people are
content with simplicity.
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6. Wealth itself could be considered a symbol.
to the black guys it means so much. Wealth
symbolizes to the black guys as food, security,
and happiness. On the other hand, while being
robbed Edward does not put up a fight in order to
keep his positions. He was not concerned with
keeping his worldly riches. This symbolizes
that Edward is really carefree about his wealth.
Edwards wealth means nothing to him.
7. The authors primary goal is to inform
people that wealth does not make you happy. We
all have our impressions of how the wealthy live
their lives but Once you are behind closed doors
we realize that the grass is not always greener
on the other side.
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Our Reaction
We enjoyed the story. We liked the message the
author brought across. The grass is not always
greener on the other side and having money
doesn't make you happy. From the outside looking
in, we need to realize that money doesn't buy you
happiness. Our reaction affected our reading
because we began to relate to the message.