Throughout much of Billie Holiday’s early years of her life she suffered many hardships. Chapter 5 of her autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues, is titled, “Getting Some Fun Out of Life,” because it is about a time in her life when she was actually happy. She discusses about a rich white man, named Jimmy Donahue, whom she says, “knew how to live it up” (pg. 58). Billie brings him to a place that she knows called Small’s. He is truly the life of the party and makes everyone have a good time. A widowed woman, named Libby Holman, threw a party for her baby’s birthday, and once again Jimmy proved himself to be able to make everyone have fun. Jimmy is a memorable person in Billie’s life because he didn’t act different around “Negroes” then he did around white people, or “ofays” as she refers to them as. He also didn’t let his money change him. He didn’t act snobby towards poor people, but he instead treated everyone the same. Jimmy wasn’t afraid to spend his money to have a good time.
Billie Holiday also mentions a man named Shelton Brooks, who introduced her into the acting world. She got small parts, nothing big that really came out of it, but it helped her pay her bills. She also got to experience being an actress for a short period of time. She mentions how her mother thought that she was going to be a famous actress, which shows her mother’s pride in her daughter. She thinks she can do anything that she can set her mind to and it seems as if her mother’s support is something that is extremely important to Billie.
The quotation that best captures this chapter of Billie Holiday’s autobiography would be, “This was one hell of a party-the way a party’s supposed to be. I’ll never forget it or Jimmy. I wouldn’t think of throwing a big ball unless I was sure Jimmy could come and keep things moving” (pg 61). Billie is discussing the party that Libby Holman threw for her child. This quote shows how Jimmy Donahue really made an impact on her life. He made her forget about all her worries and she could just have fun for once. All of her past struggles were in the back of her mind and she could concentrate on what truly made her happy, which was singing.
When Billie discusses the exact amount of pay she received for doing a gig, or the amount of money that Jimmy spent when they went out one night, it raises the question of why she felt the need to include these details. Was money all that really mattered to her? Throughout her autobiography she makes it seem like her first priority was to make her mother and herself have money to live together and not have to struggle. As time goes on it seems as if she cares more about the money then anything else.
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Billie's desire for money is evident in her autobiography. However she did not always have such a great attraction for money. When she was younger, money was a necessity, and one that was both scarce and precious around her home. She learned to labor for hours to earn it, and much of her upbringing was affected by its gross absence. As the money began to flow toward her in great amounts, she thought she reached happiness, her goal, and she was fulfilled. Such a massive treasure had been granted to her, and this view she had of money helped destroy her as she became more and more addicted to it.
ReplyDelete-Jonathan Lazar-
It is not that she desires it as say one from a social climbing family desires it, rather she desires it because it mean safety and security for her Mother.
ReplyDeleteMoney represents safety, security and independence. Unlike 2 chapters ago where she had to basically blackmail and embarrass her father for money, now, she can speak about money and spend it in a "freer way."