Racism and Oppression in Black American Literature: an Example of Richard Wright’s Black Boy
Chapter One
PURPOSE OF STUDY
The purpose of this study is to create an awareness of racism and oppression using the personal experience of Richard Wright in his autobiography BlackBoy.
This essay concentrates on the theme of racism and oppression in Black American literature. Our intention is to show that racism and oppression indeed is a prominent theme in BlackBoy especially because the book was written during the Jim Crow era at a point where racism was very prominent in the American society.
It also looks at the personal understanding of the Blackman’s point of view and his situation. Examples of racism and oppression are cited in BlackBoy. This project exposes how racism and oppression affects the mentality and the way of living of the Black race, reducing them to a level of inferiority, in every aspect of their lives.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
This chapter reviews materials relevant to this research and also shed more light in the circumstances that brought the black to the unfriendly society in which the found themselves today. Slave trade is as terrible as hell. One needs to consider the fact that people were packed like sardines in the most inhuman condition possible to another man’s land against their wished. According to Lewis Nkosi (1965:102)
“The Negro had never forgotten that he has not come to America like other emigrates who came out of their own free will, looking for fame and fortunes. The Negro was wrenched from his homeland and carried into slavery in the most shameful way possible…”1
It is also in this view that one of the renaissance writers named Claude Mckay in his poem “To the white friends” writes
“My eyes grew dim and I could no No more gaze; A wave of longing Though my body swept; and hungry For the aid familiar ways, I Turned aside and bowed my head and wept”2
The above quoted lines could be said to be a “song of sorrow” expressing the oppression, agonies of the blacks inherent in the fact that they were brutally transplanted into the Americans, cutting them from their origin and their fatherland, home and culture and planted into the land of ‘hostile’ weather and people. The white man shows no remorse for ruefully taking blacks in slavery. They even justified their humiliation and exploitation of the blacks. One of the renaissance essayist and white, James Baldwin says;
“When I was growing up, Negroes in this country were taught to be ashamed of Africa. They were taught bluntly, as I was, for example, by being told that Africa had never contributed anything to civilization”3
The hostility and oppression coming from the whites to the blacks was great and its effects are felt in barely all aspects of their life. According to Carl Senna (1971:8)
“In Wright’s boyhood, there was virtually no chance for a personality such as his to develop freely. Everything conspired against personal freedom….. Black children must never strive to be more than the white children, if they do, not only will they suffer terrible fate but their families will as well”4
Richard Wright is a black writer that belonged to the category of writers labeled protest writers. This school gained prominence in the 30s, following the period of Harlem renaissance of the twenties. In a poll conducted by the Negro digest, Richard Wright was voted the most important black writer. He is a prolific writer of uncommon literary prowess. According to Donald B. Gibson (1773:15);
“Richard Wright, coming as he did out of the thirties has conveyed to the black writes, something of the spirit of dissent, a dissent strident, vigorous and unapologetic in his expression”5.
CHAPTER THREE
RACISM AND OPPRESSION IN BLACK AMERICAN LITERATURE:
AN EXAMPLE OF RICHARD WRIGHT’S BLACK BOY
Introduction
This chapter focuses on how the theme of racism and violence are portrayed in the selected text. The various forms of racism and oppression and their various manifestations are identified and exemplified to show how Richard Wright has handled them.
POVERTY AND HUNGER
The text highlights the poverty and hunger of the black character who are economically disempowered by the deprivation resulting from racial discrimination. The blacks are deprived of the right to equal job opportunity. Because they have no good jobs, they cannot afford good accommodation, food and other basic necessities of life. The impact if racism is revealed to Wright in the form of Hunger. Initially as a child, Richard does not understand racism. But soon, he sees reasons to why he and his brother had to feed on the leftover of the white.
“ Why could I not eat when I was hungry? Why did I always have to wait until others were through? I could not understand why some people had enough food and others did not” (p 26)
CHAPTER FOUR
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
This chapter discusses the summary and conclusion proffered to the problem of focus in the project.
SUMMARY
In this study, we have been able to realize that the current ideology of young people that the American society had always been a free one and a place where all the societal groups have had equal right is not true. What is true is that America had been involved in the heinous crime of slave trade where people were taken from countries and brought to America as slaves to work on the plantations.
We have also found out that slave narratives which formed the foundation for black American literature were written to tell the stories of slavery and the crimes of the slave traders. These narratives were told by slaves who had no access to education but whose stories were written down by the few privileged slaves, slaves who were educated by their owners. These narratives gave birth to what we know today as African American Literature.
Wright gives us an insight into racism, the psychological and sociological trauma that the people who live in racist society face. He projects revolution as the only means to freedom and through which people discriminated against can get self identity and recognition in a racist society.
Furthermore, we have realized that Richard, the protagonist in Black Boy portrays the suffering and manipulations of the African by the whites as a result of the colour difference. As a product of racist society, Richard Wright tries to provide solutions to the racial problems he faced. Richard Wright had the spirit of radicalism in him, he preferred to go hungry all day than to accept food from the whites. Also, in the office, he say that white man as his equal and refused to be a puppet like his fellow black friends. Wright’s actions showed that there is no difference between the two opposing groups and that people should not be discriminated against because of their skin colour.
CONCLUSION
This essay has dealt with the study of racism and oppression in Richard Wright’s Black Boy. The novel portrays a racist society where racism is a phenomenon the blacks tried to alter. Racism turned them into animals, families were separated, innocent were killed and so many dehumanizing issues.
In conclusion, there is still a tone of hope at the end of everything because the whites effort to oppress them has failed. The blacks never stopped in their protest to be treated as humans, they tried to make their impact felt in the society and at the end of the day, they learned to be self assured no matter the circumstance. The blacks in Diaspora still seek to know their root, which is Africa.
The former American society where no regard is given to the Africans and where their rights were denied has changed to a society where the blacks are no longer dependent on the whites.The greatest solution to racism is equal distribution of rights between the two conflicting worlds, the blacks and the whites. The Africans, although free, still experienced racism in Black Boy, they have denied all the privileges the white has. There should be an equal distribution of resources and wealth, not one group dependent on another. An egalitarian society where there is equal right for both worlds should be created, there should be opportunity to educate the blacks, access to good jobs, accommodation, health facilities and other necessities.
Another conclusion is “love”. According to Longman’s Dictionary of Contemporary English, 3rd edition, “love is a string feeling of caring about someone”. People of the world should accept one another despite their historical and cultural differences. Love should be the binding force for blacks, whites, Asians or whatever other races. If people can love each other, problems like racism, war, etc. would be solved without resorting to violent means.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
PRIMARY SOURCE – Wright, Richard. (1945) Black Boy. New York: Harper and Row
SECONDARY SOURCES.
- Abramson, D.E (1950). Negro Playwright in the American Theatre. New York: Yale Press.
- Adewoye, S.A. (1998). The Essentials of Literature. Ibadan: Paper Back Publishers Limited.
- Balogun, J. (2009) ENG 413 Note Catibbean and Afro-American Literature. (unpublished) University of Ilorin.
- Carl Senna M.F.A (1971) Cliff Notes Oh Richard Wright’s The Black Boy USA. Ck.hilegass.
- Clark, J.P (1964). America their America. London: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd.
- Donald, B.G ed (1973) Modern Black Poets – A Collection of critical essays; London Spectrum Book
- Douglass, F. (1982). Narrative of the life of Fredrick Douglass. An American Slave. New York: Penguin.
- Eckman, F.M. (1960). The Furious Passage of Baldwin. London: Longman Press.
- Ellison R. (1953) “Richard Wright’s Blues” – Antioch Review Anthology, ed; Paul Bixler: New York: Word Publishing Company Ltd.
- HHP://Wikipedia.org.Racism on 29th November 2009.