Racism in Wright's Black Boy
The theme of Richard Wright's autobiography Black Boy is racism. Wright
grew up in the deep South; the Jim Crow South of the early twentieth century.
From an early age Richard Wright was aware of two races, the black and the white.
Yet he never understood the relations between the two races. The fact that he
didn't understand but was always trying to, got him into trouble many times.
When in Memphis, Wright reluctantly assumed the role society dictated for him,
the role of a black boy. He became a black boy for the sole purpose of survival,
to make enough money to eventually move North where he could be himself.
As an innocent child Wright sees no difference between the blacks and
the whites. Yet he is aware of the existence of a difference. "My grandmother
who was as "white" as any "white" person, had never looked "white" to me."
(Wright pg. 31). This statement shows his confusion about blacks and whites.
When, as a child Wright learned of a white man beating a black boy he believed
that the white man was allowed to beat the black child. Wright did not think
that whites had the right to beat blacks because of their race. Instead he
assumed that the white man was the black boy's father. When Wright learned that
this was not true, and that the boy was beaten because of his race, he was un
able to rationalize it. Even as he got older he didn't see the color of people.
In one instance Richard and a friend are standing outside a shop when some white
people pass by, Richard doesn't move to accomodate the white people because he
simple didn't notice that they were white.
...
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...ter. It has enlightened me. Before reading this
book I could not have imagined the horrific truths of only a short while ago, in
a place not so far away. Everyone could gain something from this book, for me it
demonstrates that the human race was not, and is not as civilized as it appears.
Works Cited and Consulted:
Appiah, K. A. and Henry Louis Gates, Jr., eds. Richard Wright: Critical Perspectives
Past and Present. New York: Amistad Press, 1993.
Skerrett, Joseph T., Jr. "Wright and the Making of Black Boy." in Richard Wright's
Black Boy: Modern Critical Interpretations. New York: Chelsea House, 1988.
Stepto, Robert. "Literacy and Ascent: Black Boy." Appiah, 226-254.
Thaddeus, Janice. "The Metamorphosis of Black Boy." Appiah 272-284.
Wright, Richard. Black Boy. New York: Harper, 1944.
The transition of being a black man in a time just after slavery was a hard one. A black man had to prove himself at the same time had to come to terms with the fact that he would never amount to much in a white dominated country. Some young black men did actually make it but it was a long and bitter road. Most young men fell into the same trappings as the narrator’s brother. Times were hard and most young boys growing up in Harlem were swept off their feet by the onslaught of change. For American blacks in the middle of the twentieth century, racism is another of the dark forces of destruction and meaninglessness which must be endured. Beauty, joy, triumph, security, suffering, and sorrow are all creations of community, especially of family and family-like groups. They are temporary havens from the world''s trouble, and they are also the meanings of human life.
Staples, Brent. “Black Men and Public Space.” Reading Critically, Writing Well. Sixth edition Eds. Rise B. Axelrod and Charles R. Cooper. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2002. 134-136. Print.
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Black Boy, which was written by Richard Wright, is an autobiography of his upbringing and of all of the trouble he encountered while growing up. Black Boy is full of drama that will sometimes make the reader laugh and other times make the reader cry. Black Boy is most known for its appeals to emotions, which will keep the reader on the edge of his/her seat. In Black Boy Richard talks about his social acceptance and identity and how it affected him. In Black Boy, Richard’s diction showed his social acceptance and his imagery showed his identity.
to read, write and work alongside white and black men, he accomplished what an average white
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