Abstract
Black Boy has established Wright as one of the most insightful social critics of his time. Richard Wright’s Black Boy challenges the mainstream African American literature during 1930s and 1940s. It sets for a non-essentialist and transracial worldview in literature, a new trend to canonical American literature. He challenges prevailing dogmatic ideologies to explore and experience freedom, equality, and justice. As he describes in his autobiographical work Black Boy, he has been radicalized as being black. However, Wright stresses that he could not remain confined to the essentialist American view of nationality that associates race and participation in social networks to provide a national identification during that time. He resists to write and to observe the world from an essentialist African American perspective.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- BB:
-
Black Boy
- NS:
-
Native Son
References
Adams, T. D. (1990). Telling Lies in Modern American Autobiography. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
Althusser, L. (2012). Ideology and Ideological State Apparatus. In S. Zizek (Ed.), Mapping Ideology. New York: Verso.
Appiah, A. K. (1992). In My Father’s House: Africa in the Philosophy of Culture. Oxford: Oxford UP.
Baker, H., Jr. (2013). Blues, Ideology, and Afro-American Literature: A Vernacular Theory. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Barthes, R. (1974). S/Z: An Essay. Trans. R. Miller. New York: Hill and Wang.
Callahan, J. (Ed.). (1995). The Collected Essays of Ralph Ellison. New York: Modern Library.
Crampton, J.W., & Elden, S. (2007). Space, Knowledge and Power: Foucault and Geography. Ed. Ashgate: Burlington.
Fabre, M. (1973). The Unfinished Quest of Richard Wright. Trans. Isabel Barzun. New York: William Morrow.
Gates, H. L. (1988). The Signifying Monkey. New York: Oxford University Press.
Gates, H. L., & Appiah, K. A. (Eds.). (1995). Identities. Chicago: University of Chicago.
Hakutani, Y. (2006). Racial Discourse And Self-Creation: Richard Wright’s Black Boy. In H. Bloom (Ed.), Richard Wright’s Black Boy. New York: Chelsea House.
Jones, L. R. (Ed.). (1965). Home. New York: Apollo Edition.
Mercer, K. (1992). ‘1968’: Periodizing Postmodern Politics and Identity. In L. Grossberg, C. Nelson, & P. Treichler (Eds.), Cultural Studies. New York: Routledge.
Sitkoff, H. (2010). Toward Freedom Land: The Long Struggle for Racial Equality in America. Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky.
Stepto, R. (1993). Literacy and Ascent: Black Boy. In H. L. Gates & K. A. Appiah (Eds.), Richard Wright: Critical Perspectives Past and Present. New York: Amistad.
Williams, E. (1989). Capitalism and Slavery. 8th ed. London: Andre Deutsch.
Wright, R. (1944). Black Boy. New York: Harpers Collins.
Wright, R. (1965). Native Son. New York: Harper & Row.
Wright, R. (1993a). An Interview with Richard Wright. In K. Kinnamon & M. Fabre (Eds.), Conversations with Richard Wright. Jackson: University of Mississippi Press.
Wright, R. (1993b). How Richard Wright looks at Black Boy. In K. Kinnamon & M. Fabre (Eds.), Conversations with Richard Wright. Jackson: University of Mississippi Press.
Wright, R. (2001). Blueprint for Negro Writing. In V. K. Patton & M. Honey (Eds.), Double-Take: A Revisionist Harlem Renaissance Anthology. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Alzoubi, M.F.I. Black Boy Revisited: Richard Wright’s Harbingers of Transracial Worldview. J Afr Am St 23, 178–186 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-019-09432-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-019-09432-y