All Literature Is Protest
Asantewa Rogers
Period 4
Ms.D
“All literature is protest. You can’t name a single literary work that isn’t protest” was a quote said by Richard Wright. My interpretation of this quote is that through all of literature, there is protest. There is protest from the protagonists and even the antagonists. I agree with this quote because in every piece of literature there is a conflict that one faces, and characters show their dislike towards something in different forms of protest. This quote is proven to be true in “Screeno” and “In Dreams Begin Responsibilities”, both of which are short stories written by Delmore Schwartz. One way that this quote is portrayed is by using symbolism. In the short story “Screeno”, written by Delmore Schwartz, Cornelius Schmidt goes to a theatre to play the Lotto, and wins $425. However, as the manager is shuffling and counting the money, another voice from the audience yells “SCREENO!”, showing that he won the lottery as well. An old man walked down to the stage, and even though he legitimately won, the assistant manager tried talking him into believing that the number “1” on his card was actually a misprint, and read the number “7”. Great symbolism is shown here- the assistant manager and the people working at the theatre symbolize a corrupt government. The assistant manager said “’I know it is a 7.’” (page 196), showing that he was so sure of that because the cards have been prepared in advance to remove the possibility of two winners of the jackpot. This corrupt government tried to trick the old man into thinking it wasn’t a 1 on his lottery card, even though he actually did win the money. The people in the theatre symbolize a jury, and they decided to go on with the game show, without being bothered by the old man- “But the audience had decided once and for all” (pg 199). Since at the end of the story Cornelius Schmidt gives all of his money to the old man, he is a symbol of justice. The old man was trying to protest against
Period 4
Ms.D
“All literature is protest. You can’t name a single literary work that isn’t protest” was a quote said by Richard Wright. My interpretation of this quote is that through all of literature, there is protest. There is protest from the protagonists and even the antagonists. I agree with this quote because in every piece of literature there is a conflict that one faces, and characters show their dislike towards something in different forms of protest. This quote is proven to be true in “Screeno” and “In Dreams Begin Responsibilities”, both of which are short stories written by Delmore Schwartz. One way that this quote is portrayed is by using symbolism. In the short story “Screeno”, written by Delmore Schwartz, Cornelius Schmidt goes to a theatre to play the Lotto, and wins $425. However, as the manager is shuffling and counting the money, another voice from the audience yells “SCREENO!”, showing that he won the lottery as well. An old man walked down to the stage, and even though he legitimately won, the assistant manager tried talking him into believing that the number “1” on his card was actually a misprint, and read the number “7”. Great symbolism is shown here- the assistant manager and the people working at the theatre symbolize a corrupt government. The assistant manager said “’I know it is a 7.’” (page 196), showing that he was so sure of that because the cards have been prepared in advance to remove the possibility of two winners of the jackpot. This corrupt government tried to trick the old man into thinking it wasn’t a 1 on his lottery card, even though he actually did win the money. The people in the theatre symbolize a jury, and they decided to go on with the game show, without being bothered by the old man- “But the audience had decided once and for all” (pg 199). Since at the end of the story Cornelius Schmidt gives all of his money to the old man, he is a symbol of justice. The old man was trying to protest against