Black Boy Analysis

Black Boy is both an indictment of American racism and a narrative of the artist's development. As a child growing up in the Jim Crow South, Richard faced constant pressure to submit to white authority. However, even from an early age, Richard had a fierce spirit of rebellion. Had he lacked the resilience to be different despite the pressure to conform to social expectations, he would probably never have become an internationally renowned writer. The …

…religion, he soon came to find the paranoia, fear, pettiness, and dogmatism of the communist party to be too much. He agreed with Communist political philosophy but not with its practice. Wright's search for self, a theme that runs throughout his life of rebellion, could not be found within the confines of a group. Wright refused to sacrifice his individuality to prove his "loyalty." He resolved, as he always had, to go his own way.