Wright's Black Boy, Day 4

As we finish discussing Wright's Black Boy, we will think about the critique of American racism that Wright frames throughout his text. We will also think about a few other aspects of the text's overall structure, including how this text modifies and bends the unstable genre of autobiography.

As you finish this text, think particularly about how Richard reveals shifts in his thinking and feeling over the course of the text. You might want to describe the evolution of Richard’s attitude toward white people. At what points do we detect a shift in his attitude? Likewise, you might want to identify passages in the text where Richard reflects upon the very act of "reading" his own past. Does Richard critique his ability to understand his experiences of the past at any points in the text? In what ways does Wright, as an adult writing his autobiography in retrospect, color the description of events and experiences as they unfold?

As we finish the text, we will also cycle back to the original organizing metaphors the Wright sets up at the start of his autobiography? What role does hunger play in the autobiography? How does Richard view hunger at the end of the novel? Has his attitude changed?

I'm also interested in personal responses to the text. How has this text altered your perception of race in America? Of what it means--and how it feels--to grow up as a "black boy" during Jim Crow segregation?

I suggest you all read through the end material included in the edition I chose--there's some additional information about Richard Wright's life and the reception of this text that might be of interest.

Wright's Black Boy, Day III

Since there will be no class on Thursday, Thursday and Tuesday (September 29th) bloggers can use the space below to continue to comment on Wright's autobiography.

You might want to think about the following:

1) What arguments or observations does Wright make about the psychology of groups? What connections does he make between crowds and violence?

2) Continue to explore the role of reading, writing, and interpreting to his process of self-discovery.

3) What do we learn about the South during this period? How does Wright describe Jim Crow segregation?

4) Any other aspect of the text you find intriguing or baffling.

Wright's Black Boy, Day II

As you continue reading Black Boy, use the space below to comment on any aspect of the narrative. You might want to think about how Richard's attitude toward race evolves and how his social consciousness starts to shift. You might also trace out further the relationship between language and power that we discussed on Thursday. How does the autobiography continue to point to the importance of literacy?

Keep following the central motifs of the text: hunger, guilt, fear, desire, fire.

Richard Wright's Black Boy

As you begin reading Richard Wright's Black Boy, think about how the narrative establishes its authenticity. Why do you think Wright begins where he does? What metaphors or organizing images are beginning to structure the text? Who do you think his audience is for this narrative? How do you respond emotionally and intellectually to the story?

You might be interested in looking at this chronology of Wright's life. Further information about Wright can be found here.

Along this Way + JWJ Biography

A wonderful site with information on James Weldon Johnson's biography is here.

To access the e-text of Along this Way, go to the UArk library webpage at library.uark.edu. Search for "Along this Way." The second entry you will see is the electronic version. Click on it and you'll be able to access it. If you are using a home computer, you will need to enter your UArk username and password.

I'd like you read sections I-IV (up to page 39). Please print these out and bring them to class. We'll be continuing to theorize and think about autobiography as a genre and I will begin to set up Black Boy for Thursday. You might want to start reading it this weekend.

Remember that the Ozarks Writers Live is on Saturday (info at www.faylib.org) and that Shakespeare Abridged is playing at Theatre Squared (theatresquared.org). Send me a 1-2 paragraph write-up after you attend for extra credit.

Comments on the end of Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man

Dear students,

As you read to the end of Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man, think about your overall evaluation of our nameless narrator. What do you applaud about him? What do you critique? What message about race, class, and gender in American do you think Johnson seeks to leave you with? And why do you he tells us this story through the genre of autobiography?

Looking forward to our discussion tomorrow--please come in ready to debate and discuss this provocative text!

Comments on Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man

Dear students,

For each day of blogging I will set up a post, and you will write your commentary (1-2 developed paragraphs, ideally tied closely to the text--try to discuss specific language and specific scenes) in the comments section. Click on the link below.

You are free to write on whatever strikes you as interesting, intriguing, or inexplicable in the section we will be discussing. For Tuesday, you might want to think about how knowing that this text is a novel and not an autobiography reshapes our conception of its purpose. You might also think about how Johnson's text nods to slave narratives. What kind of social and cultural critiques does the novel offer? And why does it do so through irony?

Let me know if you have any questions!