Unit Two Theme: Sorrow of Powerlessness
The short stories "Big Meeting," "In Cuba I was a German Shepherd," "Everything That Rises Must Converge," and "The Hammon and the Beans" have a unified theme in that all characters of the stories feel the sorrow of powerlessness because of their social position or poor circumstances. In America, the African-Americans of the short stories, "Big Meeting" and "Everything That Rises Must Converge" are discriminated against racially by the White Americans because of their deep-rooted negative stereotypes toward the Black Americans. Then, the immigrants of "In Cuba I was a German Shepherd" are ignored by the Whites because of white supremacy. Finally, in "The Hammon and the Beans," Chonita has to endure suffering because of the political situation, her ethnicity and her poor socio-economic background.