Civil Rights in Richard Wright's Native Son

Civil Rights in Richard Wright's Native Son

by Candice L. Mancini (Editor)
Civil Rights in Richard Wright's Native Son

Civil Rights in Richard Wright's Native Son

by Candice L. Mancini (Editor)

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Overview

Bigger Thomas, a young man living in 1930s Chicago, takes a job with a wealthy white family, the Daltons. After a night of drinking with her boyfriend, Mary, the Dalton's only child, dies when Thomas accidentally suffocates her so as not to be heard by Mary's mother, who would not understand why Thomas was carrying her up to bed. Thomas's fate, to be tried and convicted of murder, speaks less to Thomas as a person than to the impossible circumstances racism creates within society. This compelling volume delves into author Richard Wright's life and the divide that made two separate Americas legal. Essays discuss Thomas's revolutionary consciousness, racial blindness, and the contemporary plight of the millions of African-Americans in prisons due to racism inherent in the justice system. Writers include Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, and Irving Howe.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780737743913
Publisher: Greenhaven Publishing LLC
Publication date: 05/02/2009
Series: Social Issues in Literature Series
Pages: 176
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range: 15 - 17 Years

About the Author


B01

Table of Contents

Introduction 9

Chronology 12

Chapter 1 Background on Richard Wright

1 The Life of Richard Wright Edward D. Clark 18

2 Life in the North Hazel Rowley 27

Chapter 2 Native Son and Civil Rights

1 A Protest Novel James Baldwin 37

2 The Cost of Oppression and Submission Irving Howe 45

3 Black Life No Mere Abstraction Ralph Ellison 56

4 Social Critiques of Native Son Anger Wright Addison Gayle 66

5 Losing Self-Control Joseph T. Skerrett Jr. 71

6 The Black Male's Search for Identity in a Racist Society Aimé J. Ellis 83

7 Wright's Solution to Racism Cynthia Tolentino 90

8 No Solidarity with the Oppressed Damon Marcel DeCoste 99

9 Bigger's Sense of Superiority Lale Demirtüet;rk 110

10 Bigger Thomas: Radical Revolutionary Petar Ramadanovic 114

Chapter 3 Contemporary Perspectives on Civil Rights

1 Racism Continues in the South Faye Fiore 120

2 Race Blindness Samuel Terence 127

3 Too Many Blacks Imprisoned Michael Eric Dyson 139

4 Transracial Adoptions Still Face Hurdles Rachel Uranga 144

5 Defined by Hip-Hop Keli Goff 149

For Further Discussion 161

For Further Reading 163

Bibliography 164

Index 168

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