Walter Mosley, Equal Opportunity

Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

“Equal Opportunity” first appeared in 1997 in Walter Mosley’s critically acclaimed story cycle,

Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned.

Since then, it has frequently been reprinted and anthologized. The story’s events also comprise a central plot element of the 1998 film version of

Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned,

starring Laurence Fishburne and directed by Michael Apted.

Mosley’s protagonist, Socrates Fortlow, is a 58-year-old ex-convict who is “starting life over again” after twenty-seven years of hard prison time for rape and murder. Eight years after his release from an Indiana penitentiary, Socrates is barely subsisting on the margins of South Central Los Angeles, collecting cans and bottles to eke out a meagre income. Living in a claustral “poor man’s room” not

1687 words

Citation: Chura, Patrick. "Equal Opportunity". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 March 2022 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40538, accessed 28 March 2024.]

40538 Equal Opportunity 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.