Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom: Act 2 Summary & Analysis

The fact that Ma stops the entire recording session just because she doesn’t have a Coca Cola underlines just how much power she holds. Her behavior here almost seems like an intentional display of her authority, as if she wants to remind everyone that she’s the one in charge. And despite the fact that Sturdyvant and Irvin are both white men who certainly have more privileges in 1920s American society than a Black woman, they can’t override Ma’s authority in this context because she has something they want: the music.

It’s perhaps surprising that Cutler defends Levee, since they’ve spent most of the play bickering and vying for creative control of the band. Now, though, Cutler seems to have a soft spot for Levee, which could suggest that he appreciates the young man’s lively spirit, even if he also finds this spirit exhausting and misguided. For Ma, though, Levee is nothing but a headache, since he challenges her authority and has trouble collaborating with everyone else.

Ma explicitly reveals her understanding of just how exploitative the music industry can be. Her understanding of this exploitation enables her to keep some power in an otherwise unfair, manipulative industry. The only problem is that people like Sturdyvant will still profit off Ma in the end, since he’ll undoubtedly find a way to keep all the royalties of her songs to himself. This was a very common practice at the time, as studio executives convinced Black artists to sign over the rights to their songs for nominal one-time recording fees, thus ensuring that the executives were the ones to profit off the actual record sales. Ma’s assertion that Sturdyvant will eventually get what he wants and then lose interest in her confirms that this kind of exploitation is exactly how he treats Black performers, though this doesn’t mean Ma can’t hold onto her power for as long as possible.

It’s generally believed that Ma Rainey was openly bisexual, which is why the play includes this bit about Dussie Mae. Moreover, though, Levee’s flirtation (and eventual romantic encounter) with Dussie Mae is yet another way in which he undermines Ma’s power. In the same way that he tries to assert himself over her by insisting that the band play his arrangement of her song, he attempts to woo her girlfriend, demonstrating that he has no respect for Ma or her authority.

Ma’s thoughts about the blues underscore its importance as a rich musical tradition. It’s not just a form of entertainment, but a vital means of expression. White people, Ma points out, often overlook the expressive nature of the blues, failing to consider where it comes from. Historically speaking, blues is said to have come about on plantations, as enslaved (or formerly enslaved) people sang songs inspired by old spirituals and work tunes. The history of the blues is therefore entangled with Black American suffering, but people like Sturdyvant don’t think (or care) about this fact—instead, they just want to sell the blues as an entertaining genre.

Again, Levee’s actions undermine Ma’s authority. Slow Drag, for his part, recognizes that Levee has overstepped by flirting with Ma’s girlfriend, so he’s eager to get out of the band room, clearly not wanting to associate himself with Levee’s disrespect of Ma’s power as the bandleader.

It’s unclear whether or not Levee purposefully sabotaged Sylvester by secretly ruining the cord to his microphone. In some ways, behaving in this manner would align with his individualistic outlook—and yet, he hasn’t necessarily shown himself to be outright malicious or spiteful. The ambiguity surrounding his intentions thus invites the audience to think hard about what he might be willing to do in order to get ahead—the play subtly suggests that Levee might actively work against his fellow Black musicians just to get his way.

Once more, Ma asserts her power. Sturdyvant, however, seems at the end of his rope, telling her that he’ll ruin her reputation in the music business if she leaves. And yet, this is nothing but an empty threat, since it’s clear that what he really wants is to profit off her music—if she leaves, then, he won’t be able to make any money. Still, her reluctance to stay hints that she knows she doesn’t have quite as much power as it seems. Although Irvin tries to reassure her by saying that her album will be a hit, Ma must know that it doesn’t matter how popular they are; after all, Sturdyvant is the one who will profit from the royalties.

Levee once again demonstrates that he has no problem with challenging Ma’s authority. Even though the other musicians think it’s foolish of him to become romantic with Ma’s girlfriend, he doesn’t seem to care; he clearly thinks he can do whatever he wants, again revealing his individualistic outlook on life.

Although Toledo and Levee get into frequent arguments throughout the play, it’s clear that Toledo has nothing against Levee. In fact, he even defends him in certain situations, like when he sympathizes with what it’s like to do something foolish for love. However, Levee has trouble accepting Toledo’s sympathy, instead disregarding what the kind older man says. It’s almost as if he tries to define himself in opposition to his bandmates, even when they agree with him—a good indication of his individualistic attitude.

Obsessed with the idea of being a successful modern man, Levee looks down on anything traditional or simplistic. Toledo, on the other hand, appreciates things like farming, recognizing that success and innovation aren’t always the most important things in life. The difference between these two mindsets emphasizes why Levee doesn’t see eye to eye with his bandmates when it comes to their musical collaboration—whereas they’re content with rehashing the traditional blues style, Levee wants to depart from old musical customs.

Toledo’s point about white people consuming Levee’s music aligns with the metaphor he previously laid out, which compared Black people to “leftovers.” In that metaphor, he suggested that white people will eat what they want but then cast everything else aside. Within this framework, the music Levee makes can be seen as the food—as long as white people want to consume it, he can keep on supporting himself as a musician. As soon as white people get their fill, though, they’ll toss Levee to the side, and then life will be much harder for him. In other words, Levee’s livelihood depends on whether or not white people are interested in his music.

Because Levee’s bandmates don’t have grandiose ideas about success and innovation, they’re happy leading relatively simple lives. But Levee doesn’t understand how anyone could ever be content hauling wood for a living, so he’ll do whatever it takes to get ahead—even if this means selling his soul to the devil, an idea that perhaps aligns with his willingness to appease white people in order to get what he wants (something his bandmates think might ultimately work against him).

Toledo once again emphasizes how important it is to stay in touch with one’s cultural history. Because Black Americans have been cut off from their ancestral customs and traditions, he argues, they’ve been forced to take on white society’s cultural traits. His point once more connects to the metaphor about stew, reminding the bandmates that the American “melting pot” isn’t quite as inclusive as it seems. Rather, white society has simply taken what it wants from Black culture and then forced Black people to acquiesce to white expectations.

Cutler makes a good point about Ma’s power, underscoring the fact that she has a very specific, narrow kind of authority. Indeed, she’s only powerful in the context of the recording studio, where she can leverage her artistic talent and creative control against the exploitative white executives who want to sell her music. Otherwise, though, she’s subject to the same racism and discrimination as any other Black person in the United States during the 1920s.

Cutler suggests that white people don’t genuinely care about Black people in any situation—except, that is, if they stand to benefit from Black people, in which case they will perhaps show some respect. To be a reverend in the South in the 1920s was to hold a very respectable position, but the white men in Cutler’s story clearly don’t see beyond the color of the reverend’s skin, illustrating just how little regard they hold for his status.

At this point, it seems as if Levee is blatantly trying to provoke Cutler by speaking blasphemously, once more revealing his divisive, combative nature. At the same time, though, his statements hint that he feels entirely alone in the world. Without a God to turn to, he clearly believes he has to make his own luck, which is perhaps why he has so much ambition and acts so individualistically, always looking out for his own interests because he thinks this is the only way to succeed.

Levee’s traumatic personal history brings itself to bear on his interaction with Cutler. When he yells about what happened to his mother, it becomes clear that he feels abandoned by God. Consequently, he feels alone in the world, which is most likely why he has such an individualistic attitude, constantly prioritizing his own ambition over everything (and everyone) else.

Yet again, Levee refuses to submit to Ma’s authority. Instead of recognizing that she’s the bandleader and that his job is to accompany her however she sees fit, he prioritizes his own ideas about music and innovation. His style, he argues, is what people actually want to listen to, implying that Ma’s music is out of touch with the times. Of course, Levee might be right, at least to a certain degree—after all, it is the case that jazz (which features quite a bit of improvisation) became wildly popular in the 1920s. However, the fact that Levee’s inspired ideas about music get him fired suggests that there’s a time to innovate and a time to simply play whatever’s most appropriate. Needless to say, this recording session isn’t a good environment for creative experimentation, as Ma sees Levee’s playing as a threat to overshadow her own prominence as the bandleader.

Now that Ma has finished recording her album, Sturdyvant tries to take advantage of her. But by saying that she’ll never record for Sturdyvant again if he doesn’t pay her and the others the correct amount, she holds onto what little power she has left in this exploitative relationship. Once again, she threatens to withhold her music, thereby leveraging her most valuable asset. It remains to be seen whether or not this will work quite as well as it did earlier in the play, though, since Sturdyvant has already gotten what he wanted.

The conversation about checks sheds light on the broader societal racism the bandmates face outside the music industry. Although performers like Ma might have some power in the recording studio, the fact remains that Black people are at a disadvantage in the racist environment of the United States in the 1920s. Even cashing a check as a Black person can be impossible.

It’s interesting that Ma waits until now to reveal that she hasn’t signed the release forms, since it would have made sense for her to mention this when Irvin first told her Sturdyvant didn’t want to pay the full amount. However, keeping this information to herself allowed her to hold onto her power over Sturdyvant for as long as possible—after all, he has now paid her in full but doesn’t yet own the rights to the songs, putting Ma in a very powerful position. However, she ends up signing the forms, acquiescing at the last minute to the exploitative nature of the record industry in the 1920s, in which white executives made huge profits off of royalties while Black musicians made nominal one-time recording fees.

Whereas Ma strategically navigates her business relationship with Sturdyvant, Levee eagerly gives Sturdyvant his songs. He has taken Sturdyvant for his word, believing that the white studio executive wants to work with him. What Sturdyvant is really after, though, are the rights to Levee’s songs, which is why he refuses to record them but offers to buy them for a small fee. His plan, it seems, is to disappoint Levee so much that he’s willing to give up his own songs, as Sturdyvant acts like he’s doing Levee a favor. And though Levee seems to believe Sturdyvant when he says the songs won’t sell, the historically exploitative nature of the music industry suggests that Sturdyvant thinks the complete opposite: that the songs will be hits, and that if Sturdyvant owns the rights, he’ll make a fortune off them. Plus, by cutting Levee out of the entire process, Sturdyvant won’t have to share the profits.

Sturdyvant is being dishonest when he says that Levee’s songs won’t sell as well as Ma’s. After all, at the beginning of the play, he complained to Irvin at length that Ma’s records haven’t been selling well in places like Harlem because they aren’t exciting and new. Levee’s music, on the other hand, is fresh and modern, so it would surely do well in such markets. Unfortunately, though, Levee doesn’t have much power in this situation: he’s an unrecognized musician who has just been fired from his place in Ma’s band, so he has nothing to turn to. As a result, Sturdyvant moves in, preying on Levee’s powerlessness.

Levee has been stripped of everything: he not only lost his place in Ma’s band but also got swindled out of a lucrative recording opportunity. Left with nothing, he misplaces his anger by taking it out on Toledo. There’s some symbolic significance to the fact that he loses his temper over Toledo stepping on his shoe, since that shoe represents his lofty ambitions and his obsession with becoming successful. In a way, those flashy shoes are all he has left, so he simply can’t bear to see Toledo step on them with his clunky farming shoes; it’s as if his dreams have been crushed. Although Levee believes in the importance of innovation and progress, life seems to have shown him that he’s destined to lead the same traditional, simplistic life as his bandmates.

The tragedy of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is that Levee’s disenfranchisement turns him against his own bandmates, who—like him—are Black musicians facing the exact same disenfranchisement. Throughout the play, Levee alienates himself from the other musicians, so that when he gets swindled by Sturdyvant, he has nobody to turn to. Instead of coming together with Toledo and the others, he lashes out, suggesting that the racist and exploitative nature of American society can sow division in Black communities that would be better off working together and helping each other. This tragic ending circles back to Toledo’s prior insistence that Black Americans ought unite in order to improve their living conditions.