In Black Boy by Richard Wright, Wright’s general subject is to make a recording of his life portraying his boyhood in the cruel South and his struggles within the Communist Party in Chicago. Wright’s main point is to show that people all have the same feelings and are as alike on the inside as they are different on the outside. A goal Wright may have hoped to accomplish was to help others realize that there is no place in the world for racism. The audience that Wright was addressing was to anybody who wanted or wants to know about how life was for a young black man living in a white America.

I agree with Wright’s ideas. I think people would know what it was like for black men in his time. He just wanted people to know that despite the color they’re alike. He hated how he was treated so he wrote about it. I do not think he was being biased either.

A theme I recognized in the story was individual positions within a racist mind-set. Wright realized that he lived in a racist world in which there was a lot of prejudice against blacks. Richard had to be tolerant with those around him who didn’t have the intellect to see the world like he did.

Another theme I recognized was the entity verses culture. Richard was simply an individual who did things his way. Throughout the story he clashes with white culture as well as black culture. Neither culture satisfied him so he dug his own path.

Another theme that was recognized was the power of the arts. Richard seemed to be able to run towards reading and writing despite the situations he was causing in his family because of it. In the end it did him good.

Using his own life story, Wright uses first person narrative to portray a young black boy growing up under the oppression of southern racism. Wright believed that well-developed protagonist in a successful novel would do more for race relations than any political speech or ruling. Therefore, by the use of his own experience reinforced by a first person role, Wright exposes the reality of life for the black American sensibly.