Topic > Who knows: madness in Dutchman

An apple pressed precariously to red lips, Lula from Leroi Jones' existential drama Dutchman is the epitome of temptation. He meanders around the train car, spying on Clay and eventually leading to his outburst near the end of the second scene. Clay's speech is spontaneously provoked, but it is nevertheless revealing of his character. In Jones' play, Lula pushes the boundaries of social decency with her form of neurotic and offensive madness, ultimately forcing Clay to engage in his animalistic whims, illustrating that the two characters, though different in motivations and actions, both harbor some form of madness. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayLula attacks Clay on all fronts, particularly addressing his clothes and how they inaccurately reflect his identity. She tells him, “Boy, whose narrow-shouldered clothes come from a tradition you should feel oppressed by. A three button suit. What right do you have to wear a three-button suit? Your grandfather was a slave, he didn't go to Harvard” (18). Lula repeatedly accuses Clay of being pretentious, of trying to be something he shouldn't or can't be, even saying, "You're not a nigger, you're just a dirty white man" (31). The three-button suit, for example, would be something traditionally worn by a wealthy, white man, not by a young black man riding a train. Lula, however, takes her questions to an indecent level, asking Clay what his "right" to wear the dress is and accusing him of wearing something he should be ashamed of. Lula accuses Clay of embracing his own oppression by wearing such clothing and then pushes his reading of the cause even further, implying that slavery is the position of blacks and Harvard is the dominance of whites. His neurotic behavior is unwarranted and unwarranted, highlighting the careless and vicious nature of his madness. In his outburst, however, Clay, as well as the audience, realizes that his feelings about his position in society and the way he dresses are not that different from Lula's perceptions. While Lula is pressed against her seat, Clay addresses the entire train: "And I sit here, in this dress buttoned up to keep me from slitting all your throats" (34). Clay's retort is obviously a response to Lula's earlier mention of his clothes, but his ferocity is unexpected, even unreasonable. The sheer animalistic rage in his murderous words is shocking, but it's not just aimed at Lula: it's aimed at the entire train which, by this point, has filled up with white passengers. He admits that the dress is a kind of forced civility, realizing that, deep down, he is filled with savage hatred for the white race and that he has conformed to white society's vision of refinement. Lula's antagonism combined with this self-discovery pushes Clay over the edge into a state of madness of his own, where he claims that it's only his clothes that stop him from killing a train full of people. Additionally, Lula attacks Clay's education, ambition, and self-perception. Lula asks Clay, “And who do you think you are? Who do you think you are now?" Clay replies, “Well, in college I thought I was Baudelaire. But I've slowed down since then. In a scathing response, Lula again accuses Clay of not being black, of not exemplifying his race in his ambitions and in his perception of himself, saying, “I bet you never thought you were a black nigger” (19) insinuates that Clay's previous perception of himself as Baudelaire is incompatible with. his identity as a black man, accusing him once again of not seeing himself clearly, of, 1964.