Richard Wright’s autobiographical book Black Boy is an account of the insidious effects of racial bigotry in the Southern United States in the 1920s. In its pages, the author reveals the brutal truth about whites’ degrading treatment of African Americans and the limited opportunities for employment and education. Therefore, Black Boy is a memoir that provides insight into how racial prejudice affected Wright’s worldview and solidified his character.
Richard Nathaniel Wright was born on September 4, 1908, on an ordinary plantation. The young man studied diligently but could not finish more than nine grades, as it was necessary to help his family (Al-Subari 24). Working in Chicago as a dishwasher, porter, delivery boy, and clerk revealed to Richard the multifaceted life of America. The oppression of the working classes, the Great Depression of the 1930s with mass unemployment, and discrimination against blacks: all surrounded Wright, and he naturally reflected these realities in his book.
The Black Boy vividly represents Wright’s harsh, challenging childhood and adolescence in rural Mississippi. The era of racial discrimination in which the author grew up was the reason for his early lies, theft, and humiliation (Dunbar 132). He was surrounded by defeatism, coldness, and cruelty, even in his family, where he felt shunned. His mother, perhaps his best role model in her devotion to her children, became disabled early in Wright’s life, so parent and child functions were reversed.
Violence was also a fundamental fact of Wright’s biography, which became the basis for his memoir. The author details why whites are dangerous and kill blacks without cause or consequence. Relevant is the story of Wright’s uncle, who was shot by white men who wanted to take away his liquor business (Dunbar 134). Moreover, the author shares real stories from his job where he was lied to and persuaded to fight to entertain a white audience. African Americans were often the target of ridicule, mocked, and not seen as individuals.
Thus, Black Boy is an autobiography that contains brutal facts from Wright’s life and work experience. It describes the realities of his existence and experiences, which were overflowing with hardship and prejudice. White society was cruel, and in his book, the author provides truthful and relevant facts that confirm that blacks had to harden their character to survive the hardships of an unequal world.
Works Cited
Al-Subari, Ali Ahmed Mused. “Representation of Racial Segregation and Identity Crisis in Richard Wright’s Novel Black Boy.” Studies in Literature and Language, vol. 20, no. 1, 2020, pp. 21-26.
Dunbar, Eve. “Loving Gorillas: Segregation Literature, Animality, and Black Liberation.” American Literature, vol. 92, no. 1, 2020, pp. 123-149.