Violence In Richard Wright's Black Boy

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Violence As an author Richard Wright used his novel Black Boy to call upon citizens of the world to recognize the unjust exertions of force and power that were bestowed upon thousands of discriminated individuals. However the central focus of Wright’s novel was to show how racisms insidious nature creates an environment in which violence between people is inevitable. It was within this environment that Richard endures three stages of his life including initiation, acceptance, and the consequential chain reaction of terrible events. From the very beginning of the novel Wright is constrained into a world where violence encompasses his every move. In the very first chapter Richard is nearly beaten to death by his mother for setting the window…show more content…
When Richard and Harrison agree to fight themselves for money they end up humiliating themselves. For the two men are unable to fake a fight and are thus forced to actually injure one another due in part to the fear that the white viewers invoke on them. This fight in the end deeply ashamed Richard for it got him to realize that violence infects the black community in general, whether from within or from the white community’s imposed violence. When Richard grows up he moves to Chicago and joins the Communist movement. However he learns quickly that the police beat protesting Communists and Richard is forced to move from one outcast group to another, never truly escaping reality. This police brutality calls upon the lessons Richard learned as a child proving that violence did truly surround him and he could not escape it no matter where he ran. This realization that he could not escape violence was soon proven to Wright when he was forcefully thrown from the ranks of marching Communists during a parade. The individuals then proceeded to injure Richard in public even thought their movement espoused peace. From there Richard became completely convinced that the Communists were blinded by oppression and that he as an individual must build a bridge of words between himself and the outside world. Black Boy was written to point out the deleterious effects of racism

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