Wright has grappled with American ideas throughout the entire first half of his book, Black Boy. He has tried to understand how to live in a white man’s world, how even an established black man is controlled by the white men, and searched for truth in damaged world. By chapter 15 Richard seems to answer his questions more, especially through parenthetical passages. A large part of this chapter is dedicated to Wright describing the women he works with and their goals and views on life. Wright speaks of these goals and dreams then comments on them through a parenthetical passage.
The women Wright works with think only surface thoughts and hope for only simple things. Wright is puzzled by these women’s thoughts and comes to a conclusion. Wright says, “They knew nothing of hate and fear, and strove instinctively to avoid all passion.” What Wright means is they had never lived a life like his, a life that involved survival and intelligence. If you have never been forced to survive and stare gritty life in the face you cannot fathom passion. Wright continues to brew over this thought.
Wright then comes to the conclusion this is the way most people live. Wright says, “The essence of irony of the plight of the negro in America, to me, is that he is doomed to live in isolation while those who condemn him seek the basest goals of any people on the face of the earth.” Wright believes he is oppressed by a culture in which the people have no thoughts of importance or goals of worth. Wright thinks that if his sufferings were for the greater good, “some remote, high, sacrificial end”, he could be reconciled with the white man. But Wright knows they look outwardly, seeking only material objects. I believe this still goes on today.
We endorse only buying “American-made” goods. We push to get illegal immigrants out of this country. Do people not understand America can not flourish alone? Do people not understand the backbone of America is immigrants working the minimum wage jobs we are unwilling to do?
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1 comment:
Maggie-
I really enjoyed reading your entry about Wright's parenthetical passages. The women that Richard works with are so shallow because they have never had the internal and external strife that Richard has been forced to live through because of racial conditions in the Deep South. Perhaps they are shallow because they have not had the education that Richard had, but it is most likely the racial separation. In any case, they feel nothing more than skin deep. This causes Richard to pity them, for they will never have the opportunity to broaden their mental expanses because all they have to occupy themselves with are trivial sufferings of the flesh and of the most basic emotions. I also appreciated your analysis of the black working class being the backbone of the working force then, and how the immigrant class holds the same weight today.
Great entry!
Eli
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