Comparing Prejudice in Native Son, Black Boy and American Hunger Essay

Exposing Prejudice in Native Son, Black Boy and American Hunger  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There have been many writings based on the mutual prejudice that exists between blacks and whites, especially in the era of slavery and during the Civil Rights movement.   Wright was the first black American author to address such an issue, relating it to ideas of alienation, the separation of blacks and whites in social ideas, communism, and separation from religious ideas.   Wright’s works (his novel Native Son, along with his autobiographies Black Boy and American Hunger) deal with many themes common in American literature, all the while maintaining sight of his intent to expose the unjust prejudice between blacks and whites.      Although Wright's characters often appear to be young blacks who have issues with white America, Wright is striking out against America in general.   Society’s treatment of blacks is a reflection of society itself, thus ensuring the black man’s hatred for the white man and everything he stands for.   The blacks feel totally justified by this.   They have had their identities taken from them, been forced to be second-class citizens if citizens at all, and they are not going to take this abuse sitting down.   In Black Boy, merely the title begins by showing the reader of the abuse of the African-American.   By referring to the young man, and even the old man, as "boys", Wright shows that these men have no identities and are lower class citizens not worth referring to by name.   These "boys" are human beings, yet they are seen as animals trapped forever in isolation an... ...gan, Rayford W. and Michael R. Winston.   Dictionary of American Negro Biography.   New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1982.   671-673. Marcus, Steven.   Appiah 35-45. McCall, Dan.   "Wright's American Hunger."   Appiah 259-268. Stepto, Robert.   "Literacy and Ascent: Black Boy."   Appiah, 226-254. Tanner, Laura E.   "Uncovering the Magical Disguise of Language: The Narrative Presence in Richard Wright's Native Son."   Appiah 132-146. Thaddeus, Janice.   "The Metamorphosis of Black Boy."   Appiah 272-284. Wright, Richard.   American Hunger.   New York: Harper & Row Publishers, Inc., 1977. ---.   Black Boy.   Ed. Ellen Wright.   New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1993. ---.   Native Son.   Ed. Ellen Wright.   New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.   1993.