Richard Wright Research Paper

Richard Wright, one of the most widely discussed writers in the Third World, in his novels presents the social conditions of black people, especially their racial status, poverty, disorganised families, fault education and their mental struggle to attain freedom and identity. The importance of his works comes not from his technique and style, but from the impact his ideas and attitudes have had on American lives. He demonstrated for the first time that a black American writer could indeed be a major writer of international fame and stature. His repute was marked by an ability to respond to the currents of the social and intellectual history of his time. His most significant contribution, however, was his desire to portray accurately blacks

He was intent upon pricking the consciousness of Americans in the twentieth century. He was an interpreter of the black psyche. Like Wright, he was an anatomist of black rage- the toxic effects of racism- and the ‘double consciousness through which blacks adapted to it. He found in himself and in virtually every black person he knew, a lacerating, soul-destroying anger which could destroy his identity as a black American. His vision of otherness and community is closely related to and depend upon his vision of self. Frequently the characters of his novels are unable to confront the darker sides of their human nature and hence personal and collective failures result. His characters are highly self-conscious, reflecting not only upon their social situation but also on the nature of their consciousness itself. Baldwin emphasizes the essential need of the individual to develop sexual and psychological consciousness and identity through a confrontation with the reality of one’s self and past with the weapon of committed

The thoughts and actions of Bigger Thomas teach us that, as a result of this objectification, the “rhythms of…[black] life” are “indifference and violence” (27). At the close of the novel, Bigger recognizes that violence has become so integral to his identity as a human being that he “didn’t know I was really alive in this world until I felt things hard enough to kill for ‘em” (429). Black violence in the novel therefore becomes a positive force, removing indifference and humanizing black identity. This contrast with the typical white perception of violence forces us to consider violence in a different light: if violence creates identity and meaning in the lives of black members of society, how can it be the force for evil that white culture makes it out to be? Native Son illustrates that rather than depraved intentions on the part of blacks, it is white objectification that ultimately necessitates the formation of black identity through