SOURCE: "Die Schwartze Bohemien: 'The Terrible Disorder of a Young Man,'" in To Raise, Destroy, and Create: The Poetry, Drama, and Fiction of Imamu Amiri Baraka (Le Roi Jones), The Whitston Publishing Company, 1981, pp. 27-39.

In the following chapter excerpt, Lacey states that race is not a central theme of "The Toilet" and Baraka's involvement with the Beat movement is evident.

["The Toilet"] derives much of its power from Baraka's faithful presentation of the experiences of the adolescent boy. The writer's ability in this area is seen again, and perhaps to best advantage, in the stories of Tales. Everything belongs in this extremely naturalistic play. The earthy language, rivaling even that heard in "The Baptism," is a real and necessary part of this world of young, primarily black, urban school boys. The language of "The Toilet" emphasizes the intense but misguided efforts of these adolescents to assert...