The Stone Face, By William Gardener Smith

In his notable novel, The Stone Face, author William Gardener Smith reveals the complications that arise when one’s ideals are questioned and put into focus. This complexity is demonstrated through the character of Simeon Brown as he tries to negotiate the condition of his racial ideal. However, the complex nature of his conviction poses a challenge that he struggles to overcome. As he makes every effort to understand the principle of race in his life, Simeon essentially grows to recognize the true nature of his circumstances. This significant growth is established in the scene in which Simeon destroys the painting of the infamous stone face. Through the illustration, Gardner Smith exposes how Simeon has become the reflection of the painting that disgusts him to his very core. By considering three fundamental references to the painting, one can explore how Simeon’s process of capturing the stone face and his ultimate destruction of the painting signifies his vexing journey toward self-awareness.
Characterized as a nervous and sensitive adolescent, Simeon was plenty aware of and troubled by the bigotry and violence rooted from racism. He recognized his vulnerability as a young black man under the racial conditions, and was therefore detecting the devastation it was causing. Simeon’s heinous episode with the depiction of the stone face was first through a notorious bully Chris:

“For the instant he was less frightened by the danger than by the coldness of the eyes, the iron jaw. The man who had this face felt no human emotion, no compassion, no generosity, no wonder, no love! The face was that of hatred: hatred and denial- of everything, of life itself. This was the terrible face of anti-man, of discord, of disharmony with the universe. What horrors could have turned a human being into this?” (Smith