Literary Analysis Essay On Black Boy

Fatma Hussein
English Language Arts
Society VS. Man

“Society knows perfectly well how to kill a man and has methods more subtle than death”(Andre Gride) Through out the 1930’s, the Jim Crow era was commencing within the south which lead to the great numbers in Blacks that were being suppressed. Black Boy by Richard Wright demonstrates all the obstacles that he has to overcome in his childhood. Black Boy introduces Richard as a child facing violence, racism and the low self-esteem that is depicted by the people around him. Richard moves from place to place, trying to find the ideal place where he can feel comfortable. Yet life seems as though it always gives the cold shoulder to Richards dream, constantly being silenced by hatred and
violence. Richard is shown as fighting a battle within the different scenarios in the story, but a bigger challenge faces him through out his life.
The battle Richard faced with society. As a child Richard is stripped from his innocence, brought up on this world thinking that he has to fight to be heard. From his early days in his childhood his struggle began to unveil. Black Boy features an episode where Richard is taught to fight. This episode expresses that Richard had a hard time growing up in the south. Richards mother starts this episode by ordering Richard to go and get groceries. However when Richard is on his way to the store a gang of boys decide to beat him and steal his money. “When i reached the corner, a gang of boys grabbed me, knocked me down, snatched the basket, took the money, and set me running home in panic”(Wright 16). Richards mother tells him that she will teach him how to fight, she hands him a stick and tells him to strike the boys if they try to fight him.Richard is then forced to fight a battle in order to earn respect from the people. “They closed in. In blind fear I let the stick fly, feeling it crack it against a boy’s skulls.”(Wright 18) Richard is telling the readers that he was sacred to
fight. Nevertheless he was trying to redeem respect from the boys and stand up for himself. Later on in Richards life time he is forced to fight once again. This being a situation where he had the right to say yes or no. He works at a factory, owned Mr.Olin. Mr.Olin tells Richard that there is another “nigger” (Harrison), that wants to kill him and for Richard to watch his back. Richard declined Mr.Olin's proposal to fight Harrison for five dollars. This occurs until Harrison pleads for Richard to fight. Harrison devises a plan with Richard to “act” as though they are fighting. They both agree not to fight gruesomely but this plan back fires when they hit one another harder, and soon it becomes a fight that neither of them can stop. “The fight was on, was against our will. I felt trapped and ashamed.”(Wright 243) This depicts Richard facing society, and his need to feel as though he has to satisfy the people that surround him. Growing up during the 1940’s segregation amongst the black and whites inflicted racism. Many acts of racism caused the violence that Richard faced through out his life time. A word had developed that had one true meaning. This word was used to under grade and disrespect African Americans,the word being “Negro”. This word being very racist for it was appointed to blacks. Richard realizes the racism that is around his society. The scene introduces Richard selling newspapers , when suddenly a black man approaches him. The man asks him about the newspaper and if he knew what the newspaper had featured the week before. Richard had no idea, the man then explained that this paper belonged to the Klu Klux Klan. “The only dream of a nigger is to be president and to sleep with white women! Americans, do we want this in our fair land? organize and save white women.”(Wright 131) Richard felt completely dumbfounded. This newspaper that he was selling was disrespecting and poorly illustrating a black man. However not in all the cases was a white man being racist towards a black man. An example in the story interprets a scene where a group of boys are being racist towards one another and to whites. These boys are having a casual conversation amongst one another but do not realize the disrespect they have towards one another if they are calling one another what white people call them. “Nigger, your mind’s in a ditch.”(Wright 79) This represents a lack of self respect the black boys had. This scene continues to only show the hate they have towards white people. “Yeah, if they have a race riot round here, I’m gonna kill all the white folks, with my poison”(Wright 79) This is racist because it categorizes a group of people based on their color.Richard late on explains whenever they would catch a white boy on their “territory” they would stone him , and if they strayed on to the white peoples side they would be stoned. This set boundaries to their minds, leaving them self absorbed and never open minded, hence Richard faces both colors of races targeting one another with racism within his society. When you are deprived from an education, have no money and hopeless, you come to a stage in life when you have built yourself on a low self esteem.
Where you are absolutely deranged and bewildered and still lingering on hope. Black Boy commences off with an episode that portrays all these attributes within one single character, Shorty. Richard works at an optical company, where he tends to errands. The elevator man known as shorty is described as being very intelligent but would demean himself, when in the presence of a white man. Shorty at the time needed a quarter for his lunch and was desperate. He told Richard that he would get a quarter from the next person they met in the elevator. shorty being desperate enough that he lets a white man kick him for a quarter. “Shorty giggled,swing around, bent over, and poked out his broad, fleshy ass. You can kick me for a quarter!”(Wright 228) Richard was astonished by how far a man was going to go to degrade himself and illustrate a poorly bad picture of a black man in the south. Shorty allowed the white men to think that he was dumb and are uneducated. Richard felt no hanger or hatred, only disgust and loathing. Richard is never the less troubled once again. Richard was scared to admit which white man had troubled him because he was brought up on thoughts that blacks had no rights, and to not step out of line or they would be killed. in this particular situation he refused to say which white man had been harassing him when he was
asked by his boss. He was sacred that they would kill him. “The white stenographer looked at me with wide eyes and i felt drenched in shame, naked to my soul. The whole of my being felt violated, and I knew that my own fear had developed to violate. I was breathing hard and struggling to master my feelings.”(Wright 193) Being that he was scared and afraid he chose not to state which man was bothering him. His mind was restraining him knowing that if he had said something that he would have to deal with consequences later on. He closes off this episode saying he is moving to the north. However his last thoughts were “I went into the sunshine and walked home like a blind man.”(Wright 193) This meaning that even when he was in the presence of a good thing/idea/person/ or place he would act as though it did not exist and keep walking forward. The Jim Crow era left many blacks in the state of suppression within the south. Black Boy demonstrated all the obstacles that Richard had to overcome in his childhood. Black Boy introduced Richard as a child facing violence, racism and the low self-esteem that is depicted by the people around him. Even after Richard moved from place to place, trying to find the ideal place where he can feel comfortable he never felt comfortable in his own skin. Richard was shown fighting a battle within the story, but a bigger challenge faced him through out his life. The battle Richard faced with society.