NOVEL’S
SYNOPSIS
Title: RAISING FENCES (A BLACK MAN’S
LOVE STORY)
Author: Michael Datcher
By: Binti Wakhidati
Class: D
NPM: 2100730113
Chapter One: In the beginning
Michael’s hand was trembled when he
received a letter contained an adoption certificate. Although in this
certificate there was a girl named Mariam Cole as his mother, age 17, but there
was no sign about his father. Actually he really wanted to know who his father,
about his name, hair color, eye color or age, but there was nothing.
Chapter Two: The spinners
Michael lived in an apartment. His
friends: Ricky, Dante, Pig Pen, Curt, and Rock. They were fatherless. Because
of this, when a man came to their apartment, they used to try to get attention
from him. Being adopted child, Michael didn’t trust to a man yet, he had been obsessed
being a good husband and father.
Chapter Three: Camille
Michael did some activities in African Hall Center.
When he was in there, he met Camille, a sweet, sexy and beautiful black girl
from Dominican Republic who
studies Math in USA.
After a month, they became a couple and made a love, but without commitment,
just dating friend, because Michael did not want to make a commitment. He only
concerned about his work as a Los
Angeles news correspondent, freelancing for magazines,
a research assistant, and school.
Two month later, they became closer,
and told each other about their past. Camille said that she was rapped by her
boyfriend in senior high school. She was pregnant and got an abortion. Michael
remembered Mariam Cole’s story. His biological mother, when she was sixteen and
a school girl, she was waiting at bus stop when she was rapped by a man. This
accident changed her life. She got pregnant. And then she gave her baby to her
friend named Gladys Datcher who wants another child but because of medical
complications couldn’t have one. Michael told Camilla about his biological
mother’s story. He also told Camille that he already visited Mariam and his
biological grandmother in their home. After that Michael never met them again,
but his mom who raised him, Gladys, used to stay in touch with them from time
to time.
Chapter Four: Becoming adopted
Michael knew that he was being adopted
when he was four years old played together with his cousins. They told each
other about where they were came from. They said that they came from their
mother’s tummy, but one of his cousin told him that he didn’t come from his
mother’s tummy. Michael asked his mom about it, his mom answered that he didn’t
come from her tummy, but came from her heart. Michael was happy that he came
from his mom’s heart, but in his heart he disappointed about it. Actually he
really wanted that he came from his mom’s tummy like other children. Later, his
mom told him that he came from Mariam’s stomach.
Chapter Five: Forget me not
Michael had bad feeling about Camille.
He thought that Camille was pregnant. He asked to Camille about it, but Camille
didn’t confess it. They argued about it. Finally they went to the doctor to
check Camille’s condition. The result: Camille was pregnant. Then they blamed
each other.
Chapter Six: Visiting Mariam
Michael visited her birth’s mother in Chicago. When Michael
arrived, about fifteen people was waiting him and staring hard to him. Michael
was nervous. Finally, he met his mother and they hug each other. His mother was
trembling. In his mother’s house, he played a lot with the child neighbor. Mariam took him to play in huge amusement
park. Michael played many games, but Mariam didn’t play. She just watched and
smiled. They didn’t say much each other, but they were having great time. After
living two weeks in his mother’s house, Michael left.
Chapter Seven: The campaign
Michael shared with his friend about
Camille’s pregnant. His friend advised him to understand Camille’s situation,
but Michael had his own thought. Then Michael and Camille had quarreled again
about her pregnant. Michael wanted that Camille got abortion. He didn’t want
having a black baby before marriage and with a woman whom he didn’t love.
Camille refused to get abortion.
Chapter Eight: Welcome to California
In summer 1977, Michael moved from Indiana to Los
Angeles. In this city, he had bad experience about
cop. He and his friends were caught by cops when he was trying to get dollar
from shaking machine. The cop told his friend about niggers
jokes. The jokes insulted Michael’s feeling. The cop made being black sound
dirty and wrong. Michael being hated cops.
After a few months, he and his mom
moved to Long Beach.
They lived in an apartment. In this place, he met many friends and had many experiences
how to make money: selling cold drinking, stealing bike, cutting grass of
neighbor, stealing puppies and selling them.
Chapter Nine: Beneath zebras
Michael got sick because his problem with
Camille’s pregnant. This reality destroyed his dream completely. His spirit was
down. Then he drank gin for many days until he drunk. Camille phoned him, but
he ignored her. Camille came to his apartment and wanted to talk about their
baby. She was excited to be having a baby. She told Michael it was the time to
be a man and handle his responsibility. Michael agreed, although he was disappointed.
When Camille left, Michael cried hard for three of them.
Chapter Ten: Tongue knot
At a very early age, Michael had to deal
with very complicated issues. Once, he saw his friend -a white boy- was beaten
and kicked by some black boys, but he didn’t help him. He was too scared. He
felt vulnerable and weak. He was ashamed of himself. He began stuttering, in
the end of seventh grade. When he got excited about a topic, he started
speaking fast and then he stuttered. This condition had worsened in the
beginning of his eight-grade year. Before the onset of the stuttering, he used
to sit in the front of the class, loving competition of trying to answer the
teacher’s questions before anyone else. But after stuttering appeared, he never
raised his hand and used to avoid made a conversation.
Chapter Eleven: Daddy
Camille phoned Michael that she
delivered her baby: a baby girl named Nicole Ann Datcher. Michael tried to take
care of his baby. Although, he wasn’t happy, he still thought his baby as flesh
of his flesh. Michael was still feeling resentful toward Camille, because
Camille didn’t got abortion. And this condition broke his dream. Yet he hated
himself for being a father was missing in action and becoming father that he
railed against.
Chapter Twelve: Sex, lies, and videotape
Michael had sex for first time with
Tiffany, a nymphomaniac white girl in senior high school. Tiffany often made
flirting to Michael. Michael felt amateurish. He felt stupid and humiliated.
After this accident, Michael had concentrated in playing basketball. He became
best basketball player in his school. He became school celebrity. Along with
playing basketball, Michael had a part-time job at Taco-Bell. His task was
asked the consumers what they order. This job, actually, trained Michael to
speak better. Both job and school celebrity made his stuttering gradually disappear.
Michael was A student. Michael had
been accepted to University of California at Berkeley.
He didn’t know that Berkeley
was the best school. His Advanced Placement English teacher, Ms Green, a white
people, doubted his ability to do academic at Berkeley. Michael felt hurt again by white people,
even by his teacher.
Chapter Thirteen: Nicole
Camille called Michael that he could see
his baby. Michael came to Camille’s apartment. At Camille’s apartment, he met
Camille’s mother and sister for the first time. They were unfriendly to him. Finally
he saw Nicole, his daughter. He embraced Nicole. He compared his face to Nicole’s
face. He kissed her. He felt sorry for trying killed her. He cried and cried.
He was disappointed at himself for bringing the baby into the world out of
wedlock. He promised to himself to make more money for his daughter’s living.
Chapter Fourteen: Berkeley
Berkeley was intellectually intoxicating.
Michael very happy and had a lot of energy to do his academic task. He also
started to come to the church and followed many church’s activities. He wanted
to be better God’s follower. His close friend felt abandoned. His friend felt
that Michael was brainwashed by his church.
Chapter Fifteen: She loves me not
Michael tried to be a good father for
Nicole. He brought some primary needs for baby, but Camille often behaved
against him. When he tried to give attention to Nicole, Nicole cried hard.
Camille told him, may be Nicole could feel
that Michael ever killed her. Because of this, Michael only could release
his feeling by writing a letter to his daughter.
Chapter Sixteen: Disciple
Michael came closer to his God. He was
ready to change his life. He began to stand up make announcements everywhere.
He began to lead his own Bible talk. His commitment and his seriousness lead to
leadership. The more he entered the leadership, he felt a little stranger. When
he began to inquire about some practices, the response was always same: “If a
corporation is expected to be organized to make profit, Christians should be
that much more organized to save souls. He had been celibate more than two
years. He had many question in his mind church’s activity. Then he couldn’t commit to the church to the
same degree as he had before. He was back to black people community. He took an
African-American literature course. He began to live double life. He remained
in the church of Christ, but his heart was elsewhere. He
began making affair with women at surrounding universities.
Chapter Seventeen: Blood
Michael was not absolutely 100-percent
sure and he needed to be 100 percent sure that Nicole was his daughter. He told
Camille that they needed to get a blood test just to be sure. Camille was very
angry. She was really hurt. After that, the their relationship changed
dramatically. Camille was very busy and very unavailable. Eventually, they made
the blood test and the result was negative. It meant that Michael was not the
father of Nicole Ann Datcher. He was very shocked.
Chapter Eighteen: Lakers breaks
Michael felt hurt and humiliated when he
heard the news about verdicts from the Rodney King (a black boy whom was beaten
by white cops) trial. The verdict was not guilty. This verdict reminded Michael
about his past. He often saw the black people were beaten by white cops. He was
hatred white cops so much. Even he wanted innocent white people to die and had
experience injustice. Michael visited elementary school to know the Rodney
King’s case. He met some black boys and asked them what their opinions about
it. All of the black boys said that they were afraid of the police. They wanted
to kill the police. But there was a one dissenting voice from a black boy named
Donte. He said that he was very mad, but he didn’t want to kill white people.
He believed that love could solve racialism. He presented his nonviolent
agenda. Michael felt ashamed because he had given up hope that racial hatred.
Chapter Nineteen: Shall set you free
Michael was still very shock after he
received the blood test result. He only worked then went home for many days.
His phone ringed off. He was curious, did Camille know that Michael was not the
father from the beginning ?. Michael met Camille’s ex-friend, Sasha. She told
Michael that Camille knew this matter from the beginning and she knew that the
father of her daughter was a white boy. Sasha’s brother, a white boy, and a
couple black men were play with Camille. Sasha gave Michael her name card if
Michael wanted to ask something, but Michael never called Sasha and Camille
never called him. Later he decided to tell Camille’s mother about the blood
test result. Camille’s mother was very shocked when she knew it, but she still
believed that Michael was the father of her grandchild.
Chapter Twenty: World stage
Michael came to world stage, a poetry
workshop. In there usually many poets came to read poem and received feedback
from another poets. Michael joined world stage. After two years of being
involved, he realized that the poets who workshop the most have become the best
poets.
Chapter Twenty one: The bomb
A month later, Michael was introduced to
Jenoyne, a black girl who sang in her church choir. She was a writer. After she
phoned and talked to Michael many times, they decided to meet each other. When
they met, Michael was interested to Jenoyne. They were talking and laughing for
few hours until they were the last customers in that place.
Chapter Twenty two: The dating game
After several meetings, Michael and
Jenoyne became a couple. They spent more time together every weekend. They were
hitting everything from poetry readings to black nationalist conferences to
reggae festivals to politics rallies to meditate at beach. Michael fallen in
love with Jenoyne. He felt that he had found his love.
Chapter Twenty three: Negotiations
Michael and Jenoyne had quarreled about
their different perspective. Jenoyne hated when Michael compared her to
Michael’s past girlfriends. Michael tried to calm down Jenoyne. Michael told
her about his everything in his past. Jenoyne thanked to Michael for sharing
all of his past, and she didn’t want to be Camille.
Chapter Twenty four: A descent proposal
Telling Jenoyne about his past, their
relationship was closer. Michael brought Jenoyne to meet his family. He had
thought to ask her to marry him. When he told his mom about it, his mom told
him that if she was Jenoyne, she wouldn’t have Michael, because Michael was
only a freelancing. Michael asked his sister, brother and friend about this
matter. Then Michael had a commitment to propose Jenoyne in some way that made
her feel as special as she was to him. Finally, he proposed Jenoyne at World
Stage by reading a poem. Jenoyne was hysterical. She was crying so hard. She
said yes.
Chapter Twenty five: Vows
Michael and Jenoyne wanted their wedding
to be a village celebration. Even with help of his friend and professional
event planner, they still overwhelmed with the arrangements. Michael and
Jenoyne decided to compose their vows. They wanted to keep the vows secret from
each other until their wedding. Eventually their wedding day was happen. In the
wedding’s ceremony, they hear -for the first time- each other’s vows.
Chapter Twenty six: Happily ever after
Just before their wedding, their
friend named Tyrone offered them to chance to share one of his homes for few
months. After Jenoyne and Michael returned from their honeymoon, they settled
in Tyrone’s home. The next two weeks, they were quarreling and fighting.
Michael and Jenoyne were chased from Tyrone’s home. They had no money for
renting home. Kamau- one of the owner of World stage- helped Michael. Then
Michael and Jenoyne stayed in Kamau’s office. In two weeks of marriage, they
were homeless. Michael thought that his mom felt ashamed. He was a horrible
husband.
Chapter Twenty seven: Work
After five days spent in Kamau’s office,
Michael and Jenoyne found a place. They had borrowed money from their friend.
Their friends helped them to move in. Their place was an apartment. Michael
gave a wedding gift to Jenoyne to allow her to stop working for a year so she
could finish her novel. Due to Jenoyne didn’t work, they had financial
pressure. Michael work hard. Jenoyne felt abandoned. They often argued and
quarreled about it. Michael needed some help from Kamau. Later, they found
their own marriage’s strength: the mixture of relationship-building and fun. They
work hard together.
Chapter Twenty eight: The spinners
Michael had best friends, A.K and Dee
Black, to share his problems. He used to
spend a lot of time to talk about their mates, black kid’s problem, fatherhood,
and so on. At first, Jenoyne was upset by how much energy Michael invested in
his friendships. They were siphoning off some of the little time that Michael
could have been spent with Jenoyne. Jenoyne quickly began to realize that these
men were helping Michael became a better man.
Chapter Twenty nine: Tao of fences
Michael felt sorry for his wife,
Jenoyne, because he made her jumped into his storm, and so little shelter.
Michael went to the beach to meditate. He sat down in the edge of wet sands. He
tasted the salty sweat from spinning hard for would-be fathers. He wanted to be
a father, but no father was coming to him.
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