Book Review Little Scarlet

The novel Little Scarlet, written by the marvelous author, Walter Mosley, is considered to be one of the greatest African American authors of all time. This Easy Rawlins novel series storyline is based on the infamous south Los Angeles 1965 riot where racism and police brutality was occurring in society. Mosley adds a twist to this appalling situation by including a black murder victim which will cause the African American community to become restless. Easy Rawlins is hired by the police department as a private investigator to help them find more information about the victim and the accused white suspect. The police do not want this information to be exposed to the media because it will inflame the black community and encourage the riot to flare again. The social environment along with the Watts riot is very important and is meaningful to the entire novel. This is a historical mystery novel in narrative and descriptive writing style. The author uses many metaphors and major historical events in U.S. history to depict the situation through the eyes of black individuals.
The majority of this historical mystery novel is based around the infamous five day riot of 1965, in Watts, a suburb of south Los Angeles where racial violence divides the society. The setting of this novel helps the reader understand what is occurring during the mid-sixties in the United States. "The morning air still smelled of smoke" (Mosley Pg. 3). We also understand that the cause of this riot did not occur overnight, but had a long history behind it. Racism and police brutality further heats up the situation sooner that once expected. "...after a five-day eruption of rage that had been simmering for centuries..." (Mosley Pg. 3), this phrase describes the anger of the American Africans in the society where authority figures and white racist people have been treating them horribly ever since the first time they arrived in the United States. Many store owners were affected by the race riot and, as a result, lost their stores. "...middle-aged store owner lowered his head and cried" (Mosley Pg. 3), this phrase illustrates what individuals are experiencing due to this devastating riot and how they feel hopeless about the situation. They had lost everything they had ever owned and were now bankrupt. Many black people employees lost their jobs due to the riot, "But most of their potential employers had gone up in flames over the past five days" (Mosley Pg. 57). The author describes the Watts district after the five day race riot and says that, "It looked like Germany did when we march in at the end of the war" (Mosley Pg. 70). This is a very important scene that illustrates how terrible and violent the riot was for people living in Watts and also the living conditions after the riot for people living the area. The Watts riot is a metaphor for the racial conflict in America, "the riot is justifiable violent reaction to intolerable violent oppression, rather than just an outbreak of lawless abandon" (Greene Pg. 16). Another metaphor in the novel is the main character Easy who provides some insight to the African American experience during the mid-sixties as well as issues still relevant today. In other words, this metaphor indicates that racial issues such as racism, discrimination, prejudice and stereotype are issues that African Americans are coping with based on Easy's experience during the mid-sixties which are in fact still occurring today.
There are many incidents throughout the novel that indicates that there is some tension between the Blacks and Whites, and also a small breakthrough of the colour barrier in society. The main character and protagonist of this novel is Easy Rawlins. He knows that things in Los Angeles will never be the same as he once imagined. Easy's feelings change the day he meets with Detective Melvin Suggs for the first time. "Not many policemen had offered to shake hands with me. Outstretched hands of the law held wooden batons and pistols, handcuffs and warrants but rarely a welcome and never an offer of equality" (Mosley Pg. 9). Detective Suggs needs Easy help in solving the murder mystery of Nola Payne also known as "Little Scarlet", who is a black woman. The cops want this situation to be undisclosed due to the high racial tensions. The last thing they want is to upset the black community because the last witness who saw the victim was a white man. Easy for the first time feels that he is in control and not the white people. Also, he is given a letter from Deputy Commissioner Gerald Jordan which gives him more power over the authority figures. The social environment of racism and discrimination among white people is still occurring throughout Little Scarlet and is one of the major themes expressed in the novel. A scene that demonstrates the race issue is when Easy went to the Miller Neurological Sanatorium. "I'm sorry I can't let you back there" (Mosley Pg. 16). This scene shows that all black people are treated differently compared to their white counterparts. Another key scene in the novel that depicts race related conflict is when Easy is walking into a white neighborhood and is questioned and harassed by two white police officers "What are you doing here?" (Mosley Pg. 38). When Easy shows the letter to the officers, the police was not able to do impose any authority towards him and, thus, let him free to go. Easy was enjoying the power he had over the police officers "I was having my own rebellion against the power structure" (Mosley Pg. 40). During the same scene many white residences came out of their homes and pointed at Easy. The white people make it seen as if Easy had just committed a crime and that he was the perpetrator when, in fact, he was just walking in that part of the neighborhood.
We can see that the novel Little Scarlet shows the racial tension in the social environment, such as the Watts riot, which is also a metaphor for all the anger that was accumulated for centuries. Also, the main character, Easy, helps the reader to understand even more clearly the situation of the racial tension occurring in south Los Angeles. Little Scarlet looks at the difficulties and challenges in the lives of the minority group in a society. Mosley is not afraid of exploring the misleading facts of race and perfectly mirrors the social inversion of society.

Work Cited

Greene, Eric. Planet of the Apes as American Myth: Race and Politics in the Films and Television Series. McFarland & Company, 2006. 30 Apr. 2008 .

Mosley, Walter. Little Scarlet. New York: Warner Vision, 2005.