The Innocent Criminal in Black Boy, Uncle Tom's Children, Native Son, and The Outsider
"It is probably a mere accident that I never killed," Richard Wright commented offhandedly in an interview with Robert Moss (596). After reading several of Wright's works, one can easily understand what Wright means by this statement. In his books Black Boy, Uncle Tom's Children, Native Son, and The Outsider, Wright suggests that white society has transformed black people into criminals. The source of this claim comes from Wright's personal experiences as a Negro in the Deep South. Whether pushed to crime from necessity or for personal fulfillment and self-realization, the protagonists of Wright's works are innocent criminals; they know that the ultimate crime for which they are being punished is the crime of being black. Circumstances created by a racist social order place the characters in intolerable positions that coerce them into villainous activities.
In his autobiographical novel, Black Boy, Wright supports this theory using himself as an example. In the tradition of the slave autobiography, Black Boy provides details of Wright's life from early childhood to his arrival in Chicago. As Joyce Ann Joyce says, Black Boy:
...is a realistic and poetic account of the hunger Wright endured as a child, his closeness to his mother, the effect of his mother's illness, his problems with his father, his father's desertion, the violence he experienced from his mother's relatives, his love of words and books, his discovery of racism and his developing racial consciousness, his fight against his mother's and grandmother's religion, his scanty education, ... and the development of his individuality...
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...chard Wright. New York: Harcourt, 1969. Rpt. in
Richard Wright's Native Son: Modern Critical Interpretations. New York: Chelsea House, 1988.
Moss, Robert F. "Caged Misery." Saturday Review. Jan. 21, 1978, 45-7. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 14. Detroit: Gale, 1980.
Skerrett, Joseph T., Jr. "Composing Bigger: Wright and the Making of Native Son." in Richard Wright's
Native Son: Modern Critical Interpretations. New York: Chelsea House, 1988.
Wright, Richard. Black Boy. New York: Harper, 1944.
_____. "How Bigger Was Born." Saturday Review. June 1, 1940, n.pag. Rpt. in Native Son. New
York: Harper, 1940.
_____. Native Son. New York: Harper, 1940.
_____. The Outsider. New York: Harper, 1953.
_____. Uncle Tom's Children. New York: Harper, 1936.
In a country full of inequities and discriminations, numerous books were written to depict our unjust societies. One of the many books is an autobiography by Richard Wright. In Black Boy, Wright shares these many life-changing experiences he faced, which include the discovery of racism at a young age, the fights he put up against discriminations and hunger, and finally his decision of moving Northward to a purported better society. Through these experiences which eventually led him to success, Wright tells his readers the cause and effect of racism, and hunger. In a way, the novel The Tortilla Curtain by T.C Boyle illustrates similar experiences. In this book, the lives of two wealthy American citizens and two illegal immigrants collided. Delaney and Kyra were whites living in a pleasurable home, with the constant worry that Mexicans would disturb their peaceful, gated community. Candido and America, on the other hand, came to America to seek job opportunities and a home but ended up camping at a canyon, struggling even for cheapest form of life. They were prevented from any kind of opportunities because they were Mexicans. The differences between the skin colors of these two couples created the hugest gap between the two races. Despite the difficulties American and Candido went through, they never reached success like Wright did. However, something which links these two illegal immigrants and this African American together is their determination to strive for food and a better future. For discouraged minorities struggling in a society plagued with racism, their will to escape poverty often becomes their only motivation to survive, but can also acts as the push they need toward success.
After analyzing a few synopses of Richard Wright’s works, it is clear that he used violence to make his political statements. It is not just the actions of Wright’s characters in The Native Son and Uncle Tom’s Children that are violent; in many cases, Wright himself seems very sensitive to any sort of racial provocation. In The Ethics of Living Jim Crow, he details a few of his encounters with racial oppression. Many of them feature violence, and his reflections of his experiences become less and less emotional, almost as of this was all he had come to expect from whites.
Penelope is the most important female character in the epic because Odysseus ' homecoming is centered on reconnecting with her. Ten years has past and Odysseus has still not returned from the war and is seemingly dead. Many suitors desire to replace him, by taking Penelope 's hand in marriage and Odysseus ' property. While unsure of Penelope 's attitude towards these suitors, readers are constantly reminded of her faithfulness to Odysseus. Although Odysseus does not know whether Penelope remains faithful to him, he still yearns to come home. “The expectations and limitations of the male and female roles in the Odyssey are accepted and never questioned”. (Whittaker 40) Society expects women in Penelope’s position to remain devoted to their significant other even after all these years and not knowing whether or not he is alive but are more forgiving to men who commit adultery like Odysseus. This situation once again brings up the question of a double standard modeled in The
Frederick Douglass and Richard Wright wrote memoirs recounting their experiences with racism. Though their writing styles are completely different from one another, the subjects they discuss are similar. After reading each piece they have both made me empathize with their feelings, however different their lives are from mine. Their memoirs, My Bondage My Freedom and Black Boy, provide insightful images of the racist and cruel treatment these writers experienced. Despite all of their stylistic differences, after both excerpts I understand the passion they felt for the hatred they endured.
This book Native Son Mr. Wright was inspired with his own surrounding living in the South Side of Chicago in the 1930s and living into a very poor and despair place where Negros had no one to defend them or help them. Mr. Wright was mostly encouraged by one of the Chicago News Paper of how a young Negro murdered a white a white girl with a brick. He then made it possible to place himself to kill someone and let their destiny come true. This story was a very eye opening because as we speak there is injustice still happening today, there are many people suffering for a murdered they did not commit and most of these people might be black or any ethnicity or race being blamed for a crime.
In Greece, on the island of Ithaka, the queen awaits the homecoming of her husband from the Trojan War. However, Odysseus does not return from the war unlike his fellow shield brothers, leaving his wife alone in Ithaka with their son. Penelope is left in a very vulnerable situation because suitors are now coming into her home looking to marry her, as whoever she chooses to marry would become the king of Ithaka. Penelope is forced to adjust to life without her husband, and in a way, fend for herself completely. This is not a problem for Queen Penelope, however. Penelope is not only the most loyal wife, but also exudes a self-confidence and intelligence befitting of the Queen of Ithaka.
Richard Wright was born September 4, 1908 on a plantation just outside Natchez, Mississippi. A grandson of slaves, he was raised solely by his mother after his father left the family when Wright was only five years old. His mother was religious and a schoolteacher, whereas his father was an illiterate sharecropper. The father abandoned the family to become a traveling worker. The family began to drift apart (Taylor). With never enough food in the house and his mother becoming ill in 1915, Wright was sent to a Methodist orphanage where he was beaten severely for various infractions. He later ran away from there and was sent to live with his grandmother. She was a Seventh-Day Adventist who later gave up trying to force Wright to go to church. Starting late because of the lack of nice clothes for him to wear, he was schooled in Jackson, Mississippi, but he never graduated from high school. He was a very strong reader and had a gift with words. His childhood in the rural South, after being abused mentally and physically by racis...
She is a testament to women of this era in that she is not pushed around by men. The unknown writer for a website that analyzes the role of women in the art of ancient Greece writes this about Penelope,” One of the points that can be made of the story is that even though women are weaker than men there are tools available to keep them from being overpowered. The main tool is the rule of law, but even before laws customs could be used” (rwaag.org). Her tactics finally pay off in the end of the epic, when Odysseus returns from his voyage and she once again proves her intelligence by hosting the archery contest to prove Odysseus is
In the epic poem, it gives images of Penelope and Clytemnestra that helps to interpret what an ideal woman Penelope was in Ancient Greece. Penelope is represented as the ideal woman because she remains trustworthy to Odysseus, even though he has been gone for several years. Penelope also embodies the ideal Greek woman because she is a faithful wife to Odysseus, a great hostess, and rejects all moves upon her from the suitors in her house. One quote at the end of the book that shows she’s been loyal for this long time period is when the book states, “ The more she spoke, the more deep desire for tears welled up inside his breast—he wept as he held the wife he loved, the soul of loyalty, in his arms at last” (Homer, Odyssey, Book 23, Line 259-261). On top of that she shows a sense of intelligence being able to scheme and deal with the suitors around her all the time. Another great quote that represents her loyalty is when Penelope says “they court me against my law, they lay waste in my house (Homer, Odyssey, Book 19, Line 148)”, which is when she [Penelope] herself is basically explaining how she remains loyal even though there are several men making advances towards her in her own
Douglass, Frederick. “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave: Written by Himself (ed. John Blassingame) Yale University Press, 2001.
However, Gregor does escape from his life of indentured servancy- by becoming a giant insect. Walter H. Sokel explains the effect of the metamorphosis on his occupat...
One important characteristic that Penelope and Odysseus share is their loyalty to each other. Odysseus failed to return home seven years after the Trojan war. Because he is assumed dead, 108 wealthy noblemen and princes invade his palace and refuse to leave until Penelope has married one of them. By marrying her, the suitors hope to gain control over Odysseus’s wealth and power. However, Penelope remains faithful to Odysseus. But, as a woman, she is powerless to remove the suitors from the palace. And without a man in the household, she is subject to her father’s decisions. However, despite his wish for her to remarry, Penelope clings to the hope of Odysseus’s return and remains faithful to him. She waits and gathers information by asking strangers who arrive in Ithaca about Odysseus. She goes through the stories of their encounter point by point, and asks about every detail while tears stream down her eyes. Although the suitors promise her a secure future, Penelope continues to wait for Odysseus. Without Odysseus, she does not believe that she will ever be happy again.
From all the above we see that Penelope reflects successfully the faithful wife, the strong woman, the responsible woman the woman who cares about herself. She is loyal both to the principles of the palace and the principles of those times. During Odysseu's absence she continued to perform the duties expected of her very well and that is the reason, I believe that she managed to achieve the best reputation for Odysseus and herself, even though woman's role was restricted at that time. Like I always say behind evey great man there stands a greater woman.
Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London about 1340. Although many facts about his life are unknown, it is evident in his writing that Chaucer was a very educated man. After many years of being employed by English nobles, Chaucer began to travel to many different parts of Europe. While on these trips, Chaucer discovered the works...
The main theme of Macbeth-the destruction wrought when ambition goes unchecked by moral constraints-finds its most powerful expression in the play's two main characters. Macbeth is a courageous Scottish general who is not naturally inclined to commit evil deeds, yet he deeply desires power and advancement. He kills Duncan against his better judgment and afterward stews in guilt and paranoia. Toward the end of the play he descends into a kind of frantic, boastful madness. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, pursues her goals with greater determination, yet she is less capable of withstanding the repercussions of her immoral acts. One of Shakespeare's most forcefully drawn female characters, she spurs her husband mercilessly to kill Duncan and urges him to be strong in the murder's aftermath, but she is eventually driven to distraction by the effect of Macbeth's repeated bloodshed on her conscience. In each case, ambition helped, of course, by the malign prophecies of the witches is what drives the couple to ever more terrible atrocities. The problem, the play suggests, is that once one decides to use violence to further one?s quest for power, it is difficult to stop. There are always potential threats to the throne?Banquo, Fleance, Macduff?and it is always tempting to use violent means to dispose of them.