In 1908 Richard Nathaniel Wright example essay topic

Kurt Setula PD 4 5/18/02 Biography of Richard Wright: In 1908 Richard Nathaniel Wright was born on September 4 on Rucker's Plantation, some twenty miles east of Natchez, Mississippi, the first child of Nathaniel Wright, a sharecropper, and Ella Wilson Wright, a schoolteacher. In 1910 his brother Leon Alan Wright born on September 24. In 1911-1912 Ella Wright leaves the farm with her children and goes to Natchez to live with her family. Richard accidentally sets house of his grandparents, the Wilsons, on fire. In 1913-1914 Nathaniel and Ella move with their children to Memphis. Nathaniel leaves his family to live with another woman.

In 1915-1916 Richard enters school at the Howe Institute, Memphis, in September. Ella becomes ill and the children are placed in an orphanage for a short time. After Richard spends the summer in Jackson, Mississippi, with his maternal grandparents, Ella moves with her sons to Elaine, Arkansas, to live with her sister and brother-in-law, Maggie and Silas Hopkins. Richard becomes close to Silas. In 1917 Uncle Silas, a relatively prosperous builder and saloon-keeper, is murdered by whites. No arrests are made, and Aunt Maggie, Ella, and the children flee to West Helena, Arkansas.

In 1918-1919 Richard is forced to leave school to find work. Ella's deteriorating health culminates in a stroke, leaving her paralyzed. The children are separated, with Richard going to live with an uncle and aunt in Greenwood, Mississippi. Unhappy, he returns to Jackson, Mississippi. In 1920 Richard attends the Seventh-Day Adventist school taught by his Aunt Addie and rebels against its strict rules. In 1921 Richard transfers to the public Jim Hill School, where he excels academically and gains friends.

In 1922 Richard works at various jobs after school and during summer, including newsboy (where he is able to read) and secretary / accountant to an insurance agent (allowing him to travel around Mississippi). Richard is shocked by the illiteracy among blacks. His income from jobs allows Richard to afford books, food, and clothing for the first time. In 1923-1924 he attends Smith-Robertson Junior High. His first short story, "The Voodoo of Hell's Half-Acre", reportedly was published in the Jackson Southern Register. In 1925 - Richard graduates from Smith-Robertson as valedictorian.

He refuses to deliver the graduation ceremony speech prepared by the principal and instead delivers his own. He leaves Jackson for Memphis. In 1927 His mother and brother join Richard in Memphis. Spurred by author H.L. Mencken, he begins to read American naturalist writers. In December, Richard, with Aunt Maggie, moves to the South Side of Chicago. In 1928 again his mother and brother join him.

Richard begins working in the Chicago post office but fails the medical exam due to undernourishment. In 1929 Richard passes the Postal Service physical and returns to work... From his experience at the post office he writes his first novel "Law Today". He moves his family into a four-room apartment where he can write in relative comfort.

In 1930 Chicago's "South Side" sinks into the Depression. Richard's hours are cut at post office. In 1945 he wrote his second book entitled "Black Boy" in response to the racism in American society. When he was asked about why he wrote it he said he wanted to "give [his] tongue to voiceless Negro boys". Quoting Walt Whitman, he added, "Not until the sun ceases to shine on you will I disown you". In 1947, in reaction to the continued racism he encountered in America, Wright decided to move to France for an indefinite period.

While in France, Wright took a growing interest in anti-colonial movements and also travelled extensively. In 1959, the year before his death, Wright made plans to move with his family to England. While his family managed to go ahead, Wright was delayed by visa problems. He died in France on November 28 1960. Native Son The main character in this is a poor man Named Bigger, who lives with his mother, his brother and sister. His father however, was not with the family.

His life was taken when he was in a riot and was killed by white people. No convictions were made. Bigger and his family lived in complete filth, a small one bedroom house without heat, that has rats crawling all over the place. The ironic thing however, was that the rent of this house was more expensive, as it was for other black families, as compared to better houses lived in by more well to do white people. Bigger found a way to make money to help out his financial situation.

This was by working for his landlord Mr. Dalton who ironically is giving him this job because he allegedly feels sympathy, even though he seemed to charge higher rent for the blacks. This job that Bigger took up was the job of a chauffeur and to operate their furnace. On his first day at work, he meets Mr. Dalton's blind wife, the maid, and the daughter Mary Dalton. The maid showed Bigger how to operate the furnace and his first task is to drive Mary to school. When they drove off Mary asked him to drive her to an office of a labor organization. When Bigger said that he would Mary said, "I knew I could trust you.

After all I'm on your side. Right Bigger?" They arrived at the office of the labor organization and meet the boy friend of Mary, Jan. When Jan and Marry are introduced, Bigger called Jan "sir". When this was done Jan said "Bigger please. We are all men here".

When they get into the car Jan offers to drive and they did. While driving, they went by a building. "You see that building Bigger", said Jan, "My father and about fifty other guys built it. One day while on the job he took a bad fall and wasn't able to go back to work.

A man showed up and gave my mother a check for two weeks pay. But things will be different after the revolution (communist revolution). Right Bigger?" Mary and Jan later decide to go eat at a restaurant in the ghetto, (the place he is trying to get out of) where Bigger usually eats. It took much effort for Jan and Marry to get Bigger to eat with them since white people tend to stand out in a place like that. When they were in the restaurant, Jan and Mary starts discussing their political views with Bigger. Bigger becomes annoyed with the fact that their views were being pushed on to him.

Latter on the subject of Bigger's family is discussed and the death of his father is brought up. "You see Bigger, this is the type of thing that we are trying to stop", said Jan. Latter that night, Jan and Marry were very drunk so of course Bigger was driving. He dropped Jan off at a train station and drove Mary home. He carried her up to her bedroom and her mother came up. In order to silence her drunken stupidity, so she wouldn't get caught, Bigger puts a pillow over her face.

When her mother left he found out that he put it on her face a little bit too hard. She was dead. He panics and stuffs the body in the furnace. Him and Jan are questioned of the whereabouts of Mary. Bigger came up with a scam to make money and create a red herring that points to Jan. This red herring was a ransom note with the symbol of the Soviet Union, right above the signature "RED".

This however failed, when news reporters were in the house cleaned out the furnace which Bigger failed to clean out (for reasons that should be obvious) and found bones and earring. Bigger runs and the cops catch him. While in jail Jan talks to him and tells him that he wants to help him, this is because he felt that the murder was a result of the social situation, which he faced. He got him a lawyer, who worked for the labor organization. He was willing to argue that society has created Bigger, and try to get him off the death penalty. When Bigger's family visits, his mother begs Mr. Dalton not to let them kill her boy, and also begs him to give her a break on the rent so she could have somewhere to live.

After the trial he was put to death. The Social Situations surrounding this novel Let it be noted that some of the messages of society that authors give are subject to interpretation, so some of this might be fact and some of this might be opinion. The purposes of the author to write this book is to show some of the social conditions that the proletarian lived under at that time period (which I believe are still existing today). One important thing about this book, that I would like to mention is that Bigger mentioned that his father that was killed by whites were never arrested, but when Bigger accidentally killed he received the death penalty. What is wrong with this picture? When a white man deliberately kills a black man, he doesn't even get arrested, but when a black man commits involuntary manslaughter, he receives death.

Whether death was given to a black person for involuntary manslaughter is debatable, however I find it inconceivable that it didn't happen at least once. As a communist I think that Mr. Wright felt the need to point out a hypocrisy going on within his own political affiliation (Jan and Marry were hypocritical communists). Something that contradicts the principals of a communist as set out in the "Communist Manifesto": "In what relation do the Communists stand to the proletarians as a whole? The Communists do not form a separate party opposed to the other working-class parties. They have no interests separate and apart from those of the proletariat as a whole. They do not set up any sectarian principles of their own, by which to shape and mold the proletarian movement".

As a communist I am disgusted by such hypocrisies. Another important thing I think Mr. Wright wanted to point out were injustices by the Bourgeois. As I mentioned in my summary of the novel, the landlord Mr. Dalton charged higher rent for the blacks than the whites, vet he still gave Bigger a job because he wanted to help. Perhaps this is debatable, but I believe that Mr. Dalton did this to appease peoples' conscience. A couple other things I think the author wanted to address in the novel were dependency of religion, and the death penalty. When Bigger's family came in to visit him, his mother pleaded with Mr. Dalton to not let them kill her boy.

This showed that the death penalty puts the parents of the killers through the same pain as the parents of the victims. From all the pain that her mother went through, she gives Bigger a cross and tells him "You must go with God". At a time of crises she turned to her god as many people do. Every writer has a purpose for writing every book and Richard Wright's reason for writing Native Son was to show social conditions of society. This is why I think that Native Son is an important book by Richard Wright.