Preview

Analysis Of Richard Wright's A Visit To The Library

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
329 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Analysis Of Richard Wright's A Visit To The Library
Richard Wright’s story, “A Visit to the Library”, claims that his life as a Negro boy had no hopes of having a future fulfilled with success. Richard Wright emphasizes his inferiority with his newfound knowledge that explicates of why, where, and how Negroes stand in the South. His newfound knowledge shows that in order for him to be a successful black man, he would not find success in the South, where he is, but he would find it in the North. From reading “A Visit to the Library”, you can infer that the directed audience would be those who have realized their pre-destined fate of failure before their dream took a step.

Personally, I myself have experienced this thought during my pursuance of my education. Experiencing this, I disagree strongly

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Where we come from is a huge part of shaping the development of our character and personality. In reading Lasch’s chapter, “Racial Politics in New York,” it reminded me of Peggy McIntosh’s hypothetical line of social justice. In sum, she argues that race, along with many other factors (race, class, gender, religion, sexuality), can serve as determinate of what side of the line you are on. Whites tend to be on the top with privilege and blacks on the bottom with disadvantage. Thus, one could conclude that two different developments of character and personality arise. Due to the environment that whites are in, they possess qualities of success, opportunity, and good education. Whereas blacks, due to the environments they are exposed to are qualities of crime, violence, and poor education. Therefore, I could argue that although Sleeper is correct when he argues that New York should stress the problem of class divisions as opposed to racial divisions, I believe those class divisions result from racial inequality. However, within that state, although there is social inequality, Lasch would defend that we must commit to being respecting, self-reliant, and responsible, or else we truly have no chance in equalizing or advancing our democratic society. With a heavy emphasis on inequality comes to the challenge of how to approach education and what should be taught in the classroom. Lasch argues that with the…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Talented Tenth Summary

    • 697 Words
    • 3 Pages

    This paper discusses the ideology of the Talented Tenth as was advocated for by Mr. W.E.B. Du Bois. The Negro Problem was a book that hit the shelves of most libraries in 1903 when it was authored by the Northern Philanthropists (Horne 74). The book was publicized by Mr. W.E.B. Du Bois who was a scholar among the blacks. The second chapter of the book entailed the Talented Tenth topic, which discussed the ability of the ten percent of the population being empowered. Mr. Du Bois believed that by empowering the portion of the Negro community, they would gain capacities to improve the lives of the rest of the community. He believed that a tenth of the community would receive the high level of education and act as change agents for the other members of the community (Washington 63). It was at a time when most of the Negro community could only access industrial training sponsored by the government. Mr. Du Bois perceived the training as retrogressive and only aimed at maintaining the status of the Negros as second generation humans. Essentially, it meant that they…

    • 697 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The injustice of racism and its evident role in some of Americas most prominent political and social aspects have perpetuated rigorous and squalor lifestyles for those of non-Caucasian ancestry. Jacqueline Moore clearly states evidence how white people have such a long history of being the dominant group and why it is so hard for blacks to assimilate. In the book the writer simply told us a story of 2 men’s journeys for racial uplift and wanted us to decide the theme for ourselves, telling both sides of the story in order to let us choose which of them we might agree with more. The author did a good job letting us know Washington and Du Bois’s goals. The style of the novel is interconnected with its themes. In the novel, not only does Moore convey the ideas and concepts of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Dubois, but Moore also illustrates the theories of which consists of gradualism and immediacy.…

    • 968 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Negroes are made to feel the responsibilities of citizenship in ways they cannot be made to feel them elsewhere. If they make mistakes, they, at least, have an opportunity to profit by them. In such a town individuals who have executive ability and initiative, have an opportunity to discover themselves and find out what they can do (Boyd 22).…

    • 1929 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Summon a vision of yourself in a crowded setting, surrounded by white men, women, children and seniors. With that image carved, draw yourself as a young African American in the 1960s, despised by the white man. Though you stick out like a sore thumb, eyes glance past you, blinded in your midst. An ‘outcast’ has now become your terminal label- segregated, judged, despised. Does this story sound familiar? Yes, it does, as millions of books in the 21st century alone, have exhibited these themes. While eloquently written, Melba Patillo Beals unoriginality in the subject of hardships in African American lives in the time of severe oppression makes this story a tale told too often, which should not be exposed to a classroom of easily distracted teenagers.…

    • 726 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Aint No Makin It Essay

    • 1708 Words
    • 5 Pages

    One of the two groups of men is The Hallway Hangers who predominantly are white youths that ‘hang out in the hallway’. The Hallway Hangers are more associated with criminal behaviors and have given up on their educations almost completely. From the lack of opportunities they saw, the Hallway Hangers were drop outs and had no aspirations for a more successful life. The second group calls themselves The Brothers who are an all black group that are more hard-working than the Hallway Hangers. The Brothers are more determined and optimistic about their futures and upward social mobility. The Brothers believed that by having an education it will increase their chances of getting middle-class jobs. Any racial or prejudice issue would be overlooked with their hard work, determination and commitment to their work. The two groups come from the same economic backgrounds in Clarendon Heights, but have completely different values. McLeod explains the conditions of the Projects as, “overcrowding, unemployment, alcoholism, drug abuse, crime, and racism plague.” (McLeod 2009: 6). McLeod mainly wanted to emphasize on the occupational aspirations of the Brothers and the Hallway Hangers, how they formed and their significance for the…

    • 1708 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A well-educated black man, with dreams of making it in the world, is What Jerald Walker was determined to do. Walker had grown up in a community where opinions about “whites” were shared by everyone. Whites discriminated against black people and anything that was believed as bad by black people, was blamed on the white people. In order to succeed, Walker would have to “Be” like his brother Clyde. Clyde did not fit the “stereotype”, of a regular black man. His brother said things like, “whites aren’t an obstacle to success” and “only you can’t stop you”.…

    • 290 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    During the 1920’s, one million African Americans moved north in hope of seeking a better life. However, it is unimaginable to do so at the age of 18, having to raise enough money to move and provide for your family. In the story, Black Boy, by Richard Wright, Richard overcomes a series of obstacles in a prejudice, southern environment. Richard lived in a predominately black community and was left in awe when he had first been exposed to racism. He is persecuted and chastised for his ethnicity and skin color, making it extremely hard for him to succeed. As he matures into adulthood, his mother is left paralyzed on the left side of her body. Because of this, Richard must fend and provide for himself as well as his mother and brother. Richard…

    • 1375 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Work conditions for African Americans have not always been favorable and supportive for the integration of the race in a white predominant society. I will be analyzing the Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass and the novel Invisible Man. Both books were written at different times in history, one during slavery and the other after the Civil war. However both portray a common theme of racial inequality. While Douglass extracts African American discrimination from his own life experience, Ellison uses one scene to eloquently depict what truly happens to African Americans in their work place.…

    • 1407 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Letter to Birmingham Jail

    • 401 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In Martin Luther King Jr.’s "Letter from Birmingham Jail," He’s responding to a statement made by clergymen in Alabama about his dealings in Birmingham, Alabama. In this letter King uses rational ideas, moral values, and emotion to establish to the clergymen as well as the "white moderate" why civil rights should be granted to African Americans. In his letter King uses powerful literary tools that strongly match his views. He uses similes to help the audience understand not only the historical foundation of why segregation is immoral, but the awful emotional effects that segregation and discrimination has on the African American people who are experiencing it. King uses realistic imagery to give the reader an idea about how segregation harms a person’s character. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" had a great effect on the audiences because of his skilled use of pathos throughout the essay.…

    • 401 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    During a difficult period of time in one’s life, hope will act as motivation. Hope is the one thing that anyone can have even though the outcome is uncertain. However, in an environment where an ethnic group is oppressed and dehumanized having hope can be impossible. It can seem like there is no exit or future. In the novel, A Lesson Before Dying, the author Ernest J. Gaines presents the story of how African Americans overcome the barriers presented in front of them due to their race. The novel takes place in Bayonne, Louisiana in a community dominated by Caucasians. At that time people did not see the minority as equals and the majority treated them unfairly. It seemed as if there was no future and no signs of change. Although the children…

    • 1808 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Of all the groups, African-Americans, had the most treacherous economic ladder to climb. Immediately following the Civil War they had the freedoms necessary to obtain economic success. They were ready to take advantage of their newly found rights as Americans after the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment. Many African-Americans began to find jobs away from the plantations or even re-negotiate deals with their previous masters. The photograph, “Hampton Institute, 1900”, depicted a painting of blacks working on a stair case. This is a metaphor to the way the ex-slaves had to start at the bottom and work their way up. They were complacent with this because they thought if they worked hard, it would be possible for them to seize the “American Dream”. By the turn of the decade, hundreds were elected to office, including two state-lieutenant governors and fifteen into the House of Representatives.…

    • 1562 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Talented Tenth

    • 324 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Dubois suggests that the black’s way of life could be positively adjusted by constructing a group of blacks composed of the top ten percent of ‘exceptional’ men. These men would be college-educated and would assist in renovating the somber state of the black race. They would aid in leading the blacks to salvation, through illuminating and validating their intellectual capability to whites. Proving this would also include Dubois’s intention to not only educate the blacks, but to enhance their sense of purpose and the character of each individual. Therefore, whites would have been exposed to the blacks competence in life, through Dubois’s ‘talented tenth’. This draft provided an idea that if pursued, an example and goal for black people would be available. The example, the ‘talented tenth’, would positively affect the lives of both whites and black. Therefore, Dubois’s speech was an indispensable document in the twentieth century.…

    • 324 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    From the beginning when the African slaves first set foot on American soil, the Negro has been perceived as an inferior race. Unfortunately, the effects from slavery still take a hold of the Negro race even today. In this novel, Carter G. Woodson attempts to thoroughly explain why exactly this has come to exist. Although written years ago, the ideals in his book are still seen to be true. Woodson's theory is that because of the way the Negro is treated by the oppressor, he has been brainwashed to believe his inferiority to other races to be the truth. This in turn keeps him from trying to advance in any shape or form because he thinks that he will step out of his place. "When you control a man's thinking you don't have to worry about his actions. He will find his "proper place" and stay in it." (Woodson, xix)…

    • 2147 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Wright combines argument and narration throughout this short story and he speaks about self-hatred that blacks have. This was a touching part of the story because it shows how someone can hate you passionately. Then you realize how much so many people hate you and treat you so badly that you begin to hate your own self. The narrator has a dream, "like any other American of going into business and making money" (889) he knows that this dream is impossible with so many white people that would do anything to keep a black person from living a dream or seeing them happy.…

    • 618 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays