Harlem Shuffle

Ray lives in New York City, but he considers himself an inhabitant of Harlem. The neighborhood of Harlem functions as a symbolic city-within-a-city, a boundary which defines the racial lines between White and Black New York. In Harlem, Ray feels comfortable. He knows the streets, he recognizes the faces, and he never feels out of place. In the White neighborhoods of the city, however, he is uneasy. He is made to feel unwelcome. The people on the streets, the salesmen in the stores, and every White person he encounters in the city outside Harlem is aware that he does not belong in the neighborhood. The existence of Harlem within New York City, along with other African American neighborhoods, creates a physical symbol of society’s racial divide. African Americans are pushed to the side of White society and forced to create their own communities and institutions in a world which is not intended for them.

As the novel develops, however, Ray is shown a different kind of Harlem. He learns that criminality is more pervasive than he ever thought possible. As he journeys through the streets, he comes to learn about secret card games, drunk dens, and brothels which operate behind seemingly innocent doors. The businesses that he always ignored cater to criminals and other fringe members of society. The irony of this revelation is that Ray’s business operates in the same manner. As such, the revelation becomes a symbol of his need for self-delusion.

By the end of the novel, the city is beginning to change. The stores and businesses which Ray visits in the opening chapters are forcibly removed from their neighborhoods in the name of development. These family-owned stores have been in the same location for generations, but they are replaced by the quickly erected skyscrapers which feature the name of Van Wyck’s development firms among others. This radical regeneration of the traditional communities is a symbol of the rapid change taking over the city. The world Ray knew as a youngster is gone—crushed in the pursuit of money and fortunes associated with the towering skyscrapers but which require the removal of smaller, independent businesses. The old world is dying and the new world is being imposed on communities, most of which have no influence on their place in society. Ultimately, profit triumphs over everything else.

Furniture is a symbol of Ray’s relationship with the world. It illustrates the way he wants to be seen by the world, the way he sees the world, and the reality of the world he inhabits. Ray first becomes a furniture salesman because he views furniture as a good, honest career path. As a person who is inextricably linked with the reputation of his criminal father, he wants to redefine his family name in Harlem. By selling furniture, he can force people to associate the name Carney with the store that bears his name, rather than his father’s crimes. He devotes himself to the trade and learns every detail he can about his products. He is so desperate to make a real name for himself that he becomes a self-taught expert.

After teaching himself everything about furniture, Ray begins to see the world in a new light. Every person’s home is an insight into their attitude and material conditions. He can examine the furniture in a house or an office and learn about the owner. The presence of a low-quality chair indicates a poor or uncaring person in Ray’s view, while the presence of high-quality, difficult-to-obtain luxury furniture shows him that he is dealing with rich and powerful people. In times of stress, Ray examines the furniture around him to give himself a mooring. He uses his furniture expertise to interpret the world around him. His expertise relies on symbolism, creating a lens through which he views the world.

Just like people, furniture is segregated along racial lines. Certain products or stores only cater to White people, to the extent that Ray must spend years arranging a meeting with the sales representative of a certain brand so that he can become the first African American vendor for the company. Likewise, he still recalls how interactions with certain brands and stores were predicated along racial lines. His African American customers share this view, associating certain items and brands with rich White people. In their minds, these brands are aspirational, as they represent a degree of success and social acceptance which is denied to the African American members of society. The segregation of furniture is a subtle symbolic reflection of the broader segregation which exists in Ray’s Harlem.