Literature Analysis "Black Boy"

1.       The novel “Black Boy” written by Richard Wright, also the protagonist, is about all of the struggles that Richard faces through life. He is an African American living in a time where blacks were not respected and had no type of freedom, though it was after the Civil War. Since a young age Richard questioned the relationship between blacks and whites and could not understand why it was not equal. He not only struggled with that but also with problems at home. He was constantly beaten and when his father abandoned the family he never had a stable home. As the years went by he began to develop a passion for reading and writing, something that his family did not understand or support. He decided to leave to the north in hopes of a better place but whines up in the same place. Struggling from job to job and still facing discrimination. He turned to a communist group for answers but ends up at the same spot he started.

2.       The theme that this book promotes the most is the theme of equal rights. It constantly shows how Richard struggles to be treated fairly. He is discriminated at every job he obtains. As well as out in public both in the north and in the south.  

3.       The tone that the author uses is serious and melancholy. This novel has nothing funny about it because it depicts a life of a discriminated black man. Mostly all of the events in his life were tragic and sad in some way and so it only makes sense for the author to use this tone.

4.       Richard chose to use simple everyday diction. His choice made reading the novel enjoyable and simple. He also used many literary techniques such as foreshadowing, analogy, dialect, diction, and personification which made the novel that much more interesting. He would use foreshadowing by speaking about his future plans. Though they were only his dreams at the moment they grew to be realities.