Analysis of Bright Morning Star by Richard Wright - Book Report/Review Example

Bright Morning Star by Richard Wright A remarkable novella written by the renowned RichardWright, Bright and Morning Star has attained great critical acclaim ever since it was first published in 1938. The book is situated in the Deep South of America in the post slavery era. From the 1920s till the 1950s, the Deep South was the less progressive and tolerant part of the States. Wright grew up an African American in the Deep South himself, and therefore, presents an apt picture of the then era (Oleson). He unfolds the story with a naked and raw truth that can only be presented by those who lived through the brutality of post slavery white racism in America. Bright and morning star has no veil of splendour and glamour. The short novella is unrefined and notably real. Under communist rule, everyone became equal in the eyes of law. It therefore, gained popularity amongst the minorities and marginalized groups of America. Wright begins the story with the musings of his protagonist, Sue a communist. The entire story is presented from Sue’s point of view. She worries over her son Johnny Boy’s welfare who works in organizing their community for the purposes of Blacks gaining power in the communist party. Her other son, Sug was already imprisoned for the same practices. Nevertheless it is pride that is the dominant emotion in this story. Her son works with the ‘whites’ which she finds distasteful. Even with the same ideological movement guiding them, Sue cannot find it in her heart to trust them. The entire story unfolds in the one rainy night. Her son’s colleague, a young white girl, informs her that the meeting that is to be held later will be raided by the police: there is an informant in the group. Sue worries and warns her son but does not stop him from leaving. Later in the night, after her son has left, she is woken up by two racist policemen who use force on her to gain information. Sue however, remains strong and in spite of the brutality gives nothing away. This earns her another beating which leaves her unconscious. The story then reveals in the later part of the night, with Sue going to the meeting place with a steadfast determination. She knows she must sacrifice herself, and perhaps even her son, to save him from a worse fate: lynching. The sheriff is already there with a mob not far behind. She shoots the Booker, who was the sheriff’s informer which results in her and her son’s encounter death. The writer showcases a sense of fulfilment in the last moments of his protagonist’s death (Wright). Music, violence, brutality, realism, the power of belief, and passion form the underlying themes on which this novella is based. The central theme however, remains rain, and the opposition it offers. Rain is introduced from the very beginning where the protagonist wonders on the good and bad rain offers. It has the power to bring both preservation and devastation. Opposition seems to define Sue’s life. Her maternal instinct and her pride in the fight play at opposite ends, and she seems to be caught in a constant struggle. She finds a balance in the end which gives her a sense of purposefulness in her last moment. The story also illustrates common ideologies which can overcome all barriers of hatred and bring whites and blacks together. However, to do so, ideologies that are remarkably different from their own cultures must be adopted. The other themes then, that speak to us through this story are alienation, marginality, identification (and refusal of) roots, and culture.  Wright does not only illustrate violence and cruelty but love and warmth as well. The love and political comradeship shared by a Black man and a white woman highlights the beauty that can exist in the harshest of times. The intricate link between social and personal struggles is painted throughout the short novella, displaying warmth, which is often amiss in black literature of the twentieth century. He writes this story with an abrupt vividness that leaves the reader breathless. One cannot help be caught up in the danger that unfolds so beautifully in this story. The mark of any great writer is not in how many copies he can sell, but in the fact that he makes his readers live the story. Wright had that talent, and it is showcased with the utmost beauty in the Bright and Morning Star. Bright and Morning Star makes heavy use of colloquialism, foreshadowing and symbolism to engage the readers and make them live the story as if it was their own, even though the time and circumstances are decades away from them. Colloquialism is the realistic dialogue that is used to bring the sense of actuality in the story: it is language as is said, without any consideration for grammar or such. The enunciation too, can be made use of: for instance, Wright uses half spelled words to bring the true quality of the African American way of speaking in the Deep South. The reader can then experience the story without ever having been an actual part of it. “Yuh an got the right sperit” (Wright) written in colloquial form helps the reader see the Southern setting, and adds the sense of sound to the reading experience. Foreshadowing is the use of actions, dialogue, or twists in the plot that hints to what might happen in the future of the story. Wright makes extraordinary use of this literary device, and had created a consistent tone of suspense throughout the story. One can truly grasp the genius of Wright’s use of foreshadowing in the conflict of the story: where on the one hand the sheriff stands with his mob hunting Johnny Boy, and on the other hand Aunt Sue stands, worried, and wrought with anxiety over her son’s fate and the fate of his comrades. The desperation of both Sue and the sheriff is increases in its tempo as the story moves forward. The cruel jokes, violent hints, and then, violent actions gradually increase in their occurrences in the story, hinting to the readers how the entire story may end. The fear and suspense therefore, remains a consistency throughout the novella, and builds up slowly to reach its climax. Symbolism runs throughout this novella, giving a profoundness and intensity to the story. Symbolism is like imagery, something may appear as one thing, but means something entirely different. The biggest example of such is the constant use of rainfall in Bright and Morning Star, which symbolizes the hardships and oppression of the blacks in America in the 1930s. The bleakness (that is often associated with rainfall) and the constant downpour symbolize the consistent tyrannies on the black and the darkness that thus, surrounded them. The repeated presence of rain is symbolic of multiple things in Wright’s short novella, Bright and Morning Star. From the very beginning, the readers are introduced to two important elements of the story, Sue and the rain. “Rain is literally and symbolically the pressure of adversity. Adversity has made her strong, keenly aware of life, resourceful. It has bogged her down in inescapable poverty and political oppression which deprives her of her sons and of life itself.” (Oleson). But for the rest of the art of this story, Wright makes use of symbolism with subtlety, which can be easy for the reader to miss at first glance. The earth plays a major role in the story. It is symbolic of the African American’s pride, dignity, courage, defiance, determination and integrity. “She stood on a narrow plot of ground from which she would die before she was pushed. And then it was, while standing there, feeling warm blood seeping down her throat, that she-gave up Johnny-Boy, gave him up to the white folks. . . . She gave him up because she wanted them to know that they could not get what they wanted by bluffing and killing?” (Wright) We see then, that the ground; the earth were not present to simply provide a vivid picture for the reader. They were symbolic of the emotions that were felt by Sue and the other characters of the story. They were symbols that stood for the utter defiance that remained intact in them, just like the earth, no matter what tyrannies they faced. There is also the airplane beacon that we see flashing through the darkness in the story. The beacon acts as a sign of hope: a light that convinces her to keep going. The flashing of the beacon light illustrates that light always follows darkness, and Sue derives hope from it. Richard Wright is not only able to present a stunning and true picture of black oppression and white racism, but he is able to draw the reader into the setting he presents. The maliciousness and spitefulness that man can display, and the depravity to which man can fall has been showcased here. Works Cited Oleson, Carol.W. "The Symbolic Richness of Richard Wrights Bright and Morning Star." African American Review 6(4) (1972): 110-112. Wright, Richard. Uncle Toms Children. New York City: Harper Perennial, 2004. Read More