"The Lynching of Jube Benson" by Paul Laurence Dunbar, is a text told as a story by one of the main characters, Dr. Melville. It started off as a discussion on bout the desire to witness a live lynching, but Dr. Melville actually participated in one in which he felt guilty about. Jube Benson was an African American who was a server to Dr. Melville and a white young teenager in town, Annie. Benson was trusted and always by Dr. Melville's side, even when he turned ill. The doctor grew to love Benson. However, one day, Annie was found beaten and raped and when asked who did such a thing, her last words were, "that black", before she died in the arms of Dr, Melville. Immediately assuming it was Jube Benson, the town and doctor searched for him and lynched him. However, after it was too late, they soon discovered it was actually a white man who committed this murder, whose face was smeared with dirt to resemble an African American.
Another text was Paul Laurence Dunbar called, "The Sport of the Gods", surrounded a wealthy white family who owned a mansion and cottage in which Berry Hamilton, a former slave became a butler for them. Through years of catering to them, Berry gained acceptance, trust and acquired the Oakley's cottage to live in, while creating a family of his own with Fannie, the housekeeper. All was well between the Oakleys and Hamiltons until Maurice's brother, Frank discovered that his money was gone from his bureau. Maurice explained to Frank, that negroes of their present day were becoming less faithful and less contented and understanding the value of money, thus stealing more than what met their immediate necessities such as food. He suspected that Berry Hamilton had been stealing from them all of the years that he had known him, despite Berry's plea to believe he wouldn't do such a thing. As a result, Berry was found guilt and arrested . In the text, we find out Berry was indeed innocent of something he was falsely accused for.
Being written around the same time, these two texts by Dunbar are very similar because they both involve former slaves that were falsely accused of wrongdoing. The norm of society back then always pointed to African Americans for everything that was looked down upon. The two characters, Jube Benson and Berry Hamilton were described as loyal, grateful and trusted by those who cared for them like Dr. Melville and Maurice Oakley. However, both of these men turned against their servants and believed the typical stereotype of the time period-it was the black man who did it.
In "The Lynching of Jube Benson", Benson tells Dr. Melville, "'W'y, doctah,' he exclaimed in the saddest voice I have ever heard, 'w'y, doctah! I ain't stole nuffin' o' yo'n, an' I was comin' back". Similarly, in "The Sport of Gods", Berry turns to Maurice and tells him, "You believed a thing lak dat aftah all de yeahs I been wid you?" I believe these are the two lines in each texts in which the innocent victims are basically begging for their life and also in disbelief that they are being accused of something sinful by a person they were always there for. The ways in which these two stories are different is the punishment that was condemned for Berry and Benson's (false) wrongdoings. Berry had to serve 10 years of hard labor, and Benson was lynched. These were two scenarios that was feared by their fellow persons of color during Post-Reonstruction. As described in "The Sport of Gods", the influence that stemmed from slavery was still relevant. They had to go against their own kind for the white man's displeasure for their own interests and safety.
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