The Man in Black

The Man in Black

The Man in Black essay written by Oliver Goldsmith attacks the socio-political situations of England through this satirical piece. The essay commences by Oliver stating that if he admired someone it was the man in black. He states the reason why he admired him. The characteristics of the Man in Black are shown as genial, kind and sympathetic. On the contrary, he had the characteristics as stern, curt, unkind and rude. During that time it states that man was prevailed to be stern, chauvinistic, macho or masculine. In the family, the patriarchy was politically and socially acceptable and was encouraged. The man was considered to be dignified and prestigious and society encouraged them to be dominant. Therefore, through this essay Oliver discourage the thought of "Being what you are not."

The man is a charitable man. He cares about others, gives to others, and shares with others, but he pretends to not care about the well-being of others. He is “ashamed of his natural benevolence.” While he pretends to have a disliking for mankind, he’s not very good at pretending to be. The author reveals that his poker face is not up to par. “… While his looks were softened into pity, I have heard him use the language of the most unbounded ill-nature.”

The “Man in Black” is so concerned with the place of the poor, that he complains to the author of how ignorant the countrymen, or wealthy, are to the state of living of the poorer people. He says that the poor only want a few things – food, housing, clothes, and warmth but cannot obtain those things due to the negligence of the fortunate.

The man in black gives a beggar a piece of silver, but when doing so, he appeared “ashamed” to present his weakness to the author; the man has too much pride to show his soft spot for the less fortunate.

When a man with a wooden leg passed the author and the man in black, the author ignored him. The man in black showed much attention to him, but instead of giving him alms, he called him out to be a poser of the needy. But once hearing the sailor’s story of fighting in defense of the country while others “did nothing at home”, the man gave alms to him.

The man in black and the author ran into a woman who was an obvious example of helpless, but he had no money to give her. He became shameful, as it was presented in his face, but once he found a “shilling’s worth of matches”, and placed it in her hands, he was pleased with himself seeing the smile in the woman’s face. This anonymous man, the Man In Black, is a man of benevolence, and is bluntly shameful of it. There is no understanding of why.

The man is one who cannot exhibit generous behavior without being ashamed of it. He wants the world to see him as a man who does not care too much about the well-being of others; much less, the unfortunate. He is the “Man In Black”, because he hides his benevolence. He does not want to be noticed for it. He is, the Man in Black.