The Individual versus Society in Black Boy by Richard Right - Essay Example

The Individual versus Society in Black Boy by Richard Right ‘Black boy’ is a novel by Richard Wright, which is an account of his coming of age story from his childhood in the south to adulthood in the north, Chicago. The book is divided into two parts; ‘southern nights’, and ‘the horror and the glory’, which concerns his early adulthood in Chicago. The ‘southern nights’ covers the book’s first fourteen chapters. The first part details Wright’s journey from innocence to experience in the Jim Crow south. The first part of the book introduces the reader to a mischievous Wright, his family’s struggles with poverty and suffering, as well as his early interest in reading and writing. All this is set in a context where Richard struggles with his family and the general society as he attempts towards a better life for himself. As a character in his own story, Richard displays individualism by rejecting to conform to various societal expectations, which eventually sees him to forge his own path in attaining his life dreams. In pursuing his literary dream, Richard gets faced with the society’s misconceptions about his ambition. When he writes a short story, ‘the voodoo of hell’s half-acre’, his classmates are unable to understand why he chooses to write a story and have it published (Wright 182). They are bewildered by the fact that he can on his own terms get to write and story and see to it that it gets published. This demonstrates how Richard as a person thought on his own accord. Richard also faces a hostile and unreceptive reaction from his family about writing the story. His grandmother views writing literary fiction as simply telling lies (Wright 196). His mother views his writing as a show of weakness that would eventually see him being unable to find employment. He only finds encouragement from the newspaper editor. Richard contemplates about the various obstacles he has encountered through his writing and muses that had he known about them, he would have thrown away his dreams of becoming a writer. Through Richard’s desire to write a story and have it published, the reader gets to see firsthand how society can become prejudiced about one’s pursuits. However, Richard rises above this challenge and gets to see his dream unfolding. When he has his story published in the local newspaper, he gets to triumph over his family and classmates expectations of him. Richard further faces the society when he is set to give a speech as the valedictorian of his class. The principal mandates him to do away with his own speech and rather he reads the speech he gives him. The principal saw it not fit for Richard to give his own speech as white people would be present at graduation (Wright 198). The principal writes a speech of his own and expects Richard to conform and deliver it. Richard refuses, even if it meant that he would fail to graduate. His family and friends encourage him to follow the principal’s orders but he categorically refuses. On graduation day he delivers his speech and immediately flees the auditorium paying little attention to the reception that comes his way. He is disgusted with the event and his community by musing on why he lived in such a baffled state and chooses at that point to leave behind his seventeen years that he had witnessed up to that point. It further demonstrates Richard’s ability to rise above the societal expectation placed on him and make up his own mind. Richard also fights against the norms placed on him by his family. Richard’s family resented him because he failed to conform or act to the idea of how they thought he should act or think. His grandmother aims at making Richard to attend the church and become religious, but he chooses to follow his own beliefs. He gives up on understanding why his family insists on him to join the church. When living with his grandmother, he defies conforming to her brazen and mandatory spirituality. At one point he gets singled out in a congregation to allow himself to get baptized as he got viewed as an unbelieving youth. He admits later to the other baptized boys that he does not feel any different after the baptism. The boys agree with his sentiments too (Wright 96). His Uncle Tom sees him as a bad influence that he instructs his children to avoid Richard around the house. Richard’s brother also develops a critical attitude towards him, which further dismays him. To evolve from such a critical acclaim presented by the familial environment, Richard had to grow up as an independent thinker. Family is supposed to provide one with the support and encouragement that is developmental to one’s social growth, Richard lacked this. His independent mind allows him to forge forward even in the midst of this criticism presented by his family (Bellah 84). Richard grows up on a Mississippi plantation during the years between the two world wars. This period saw the Jim Crow laws take effect in the Southern states of the US. These laws mandated racial segregation in regards to all public facilities in the south at the time. These laws meant that one had to conform to society to be safe. As a result, Richard learns that people are always going to resent or neglect him based on his color and racial profiling. While working for various white families, he is subjected to their rudeness and mockery (Wright 129). He finds it troubling that he had to undertake any abuse inflicted upon him by a white person. This meant that Richard had to overcome these difficulties placed on him by a racial society to attain his dreams. Further, when Richard and his mum moved to Elaine, Arkansas to live with her sister and her husband Hoskins, he got to witness the real impact of racial hatred (Wright 156). Hoskin’s successful salon business meant that he could get to provide for them until his untimely death met by hateful local white men who got to kill him and threaten the rest of his family. This forced Richard’s mum and her sister Maggie to flee with them to West Helena, Arkansas. Richard had to continuously shift locations as a result of racial hatred placed on him by society. However, this frequent displacement does not impose themselves upon the developmental stages of Richard who perseveres in his journey toward self-fulfillment (Kriz 64). In his fight against racial prejudice imposed upon him by society, he gets to learn that he must also fight against developing a prejudiced attitude against those who are not as intelligent as him too. He uses his racial prejudice experience to become a better person who aims at understanding everyone in society as they are, as well as fighting inequalities that surround him. In the book, Richard displays his individualism by lying, stealing, and cheating in order to survive in a world that did not offer him positive instruction or sound guidance (Hinds 112). He sometimes does not wish to resort to these means, but is forced to do to ensure his survival. He learns on his own terms on how to survive in a harsh environment that sees him go hungry, get punished, witness his father’s abandonment of their family, and his mother’s persistent illness. When her mother’s sick condition leaves her unable to work, Richard undertakes odd jobs as a child in order to rake in some money for the family. From a young age, he learns on making the most out of the little life presents him with. Richard learns from a young age that in order to survive he must adapt to whatever situation that presented itself before him. An individual always has a reason to steal, cheat, or lie. These acts are reprehensible in nature, yet at times they ensure one’s survival. To empower oneself requires that an individual must possess a great sense of self-character and determination. Richard demonstrates this ability by overcoming the various societal expectations placed on him while living in the south. His individualism allows him to forge a path towards self-actualization as a writer. His independent mind enables him to overcome the rough challenges that stood in his way to becoming a writer and seeking escape to the north. Works Cited Read More