Title: The Man with the Barbed-Wire Fists
Author: Norman Partridge
Date of First Publication: 1993
Place of Publication: Frankenstein, The Monster Wakes!
Type: Short story
Characters: No Character
Themes: RACE/POLITICS; SYMPATHETIC MONSTER
Critical Summary: Norman Partridge’s short story, The Man with the Barbed Wire Fists, is set during the time that the film Frankenstein’s Son came out in 1939 and from the narrator’s accent is most likely set in the South. The narrator is a black boy who tells the story of how he and his friends, Jimmy Tibbs, Rusty, and Mary Hannah got into some trouble with a witch. The kids were going to the witch to become adults in exchange for items from their parents such as a radio, lipsticks, a car, and barbed wire. From the context, it can be assumed that a sexual encounter is what is being traded between the witch and the kids for the items. The kids wanted to become men or adults and having sex is essentially what makes them feel like they are. During their time in the witch’s house they meet her partner, Jess, who is a tall, big, monstrous looking black man who assists the witch in making sure the kids follow directions and pay their fees. Throughout the story the child narrator also mentions how his friend, Jimmy Tibbs, isn’t really his friend because is constantly mistreating him because he is black. Furthermore, he makes several connections to the film, Frankenstein’s Son, that he had seen several times.
This fictional story about racism and corruption revolves around the film Frankenstein’s Son. In the story, the witch makes men by having sexual encounters with them, which we can assume is what happened with Jess, the “monster” in this story. Like the Creature, Jess is physically intimidating and yet sympathetic. Partridge uses Jess’s character to explore the “Black Frankenstein theme; Black Americans were enslaved and had no rights or freedom because of the color of their skin; they were seen and treated as monsters by white people. Similarly, the creature was seen the same way from his creator, just because of his appearance.
Administrative Notes: Veronica Castro, CSUF; Dr. David Sandner (editing)