Understanding Richard Wright's Black Boy: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents (The Greenwood Press "Literature in Context" Series) [Hardcover]

Robert Felgar (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0313302219 | ISBN-13: 978-0313302213 | Publication Date: April 30, 1998

In Black Boy, Richard Wright triumphs over an ugly, racist world by fashioning an inspiring, powerful, beautiful, and fictionalized autobiography. To help students understand and appreciate his story in the cultural, political, racial, social, and literary contexts of its time, this casebook provides a rich source of primary historical documents, collateral readings, and commentary. The selection of unique documents is designed to place in sharp relief the issue of pervasive racism in American society. Documents include excerpts from other autobiographies and a novel, legal documents, speeches, an interview, an anthropological study, magazine and newspaper articles, and contemporary editorials. Most of the documents are available in no other printed form. From Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, and W.E.B. Du Bois on the one hand, to Black Codes, Jim Crow laws, and white supremacist pronouncements on the other, Felgar creates a dialogue between the voices of oppressed blacks, including Richard Wright, and those of oppressing whites over the issue of race and racism. Students will be able to analyze a variety of perspectives on this issue from the earliest days of the American republic to the present day. Felgar also includes primary documents on the American dream of success, which has remained elusive for so many blacks. A chapter on the American autobiographical tradition uses excerpts from Ben Franklin's autobiography, as well as from those by Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, and W.E.B. Du Bois, to place Wright squarely in the tradition of this genre and show that Wright was more a believer in the myth of perpetual upward mobility than he realized. In a chapter called "The Dream Deferred," documents show how freed blacks were just as enslaved by new and restrictive laws after the Civil War as they had been under slavery. Each chapter concludes with study questions, ideas for written and oral examination, and suggested readings to aid students in examining the issues raised by Wright's autobiography.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up-A comprehensive historical approach to this important book. Whether students are reading the censored version from 1945 or the 1991 unexpurgated text combining both Black Boy and American Hunger, this critical companion remains a significant supplement to understanding the cultural and political milieu in which both Wright and his autobiography were formed. Beginning with a somewhat confusing and overloaded chapter on traditional literary structure and themes, Felgar launches into subsequent sections comprised mostly of primary-source material. In the second section, Wright is placed with other autobiographers with excerpts from Benjamin Franklin, Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, and W.E.B. Du Bois. Documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments situate his life and work within a cultural and social framework defining the "American Dream," which is, in the fourth section, exposed for its race, gender, and class exclusions. And finally, essays regarding slavery's inception in America, racial incidences of the 19th and 20th centuries, and present-day issues combine to form the basis for dialogue and discovery. The textbook format provides short, guiding commentaries; questions for discussion or writing; and suggestions for further reading, making this a detailed and insightful complement to Wright's book.
Kate Foldy, Northern Kentucky Univ., Highland Heights, KY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“[T]his critical companion remains a significant supplement to understanding the cultural and political milieu in which both Wright and his autobiography were formed....making this a detailed and insightful complement to Wright's book.”–School Library Journal

“This is an exhaustive analysis.... Teachers will find a wealth of information and primary source materials for critical analysis of Wright's book. If your curriculum studies this title in depth, this is an excellent resource for instructors and advanced students of literature and American history. Recommended.”–The Book Report

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 184 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Press (April 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313302219
• ISBN-13: 978-0313302213
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,176,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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