The Social Norm of the American South in Black Boy, a Novel by Richard Wright

Black Boy: A Social Norm

Richard Wright’s autobiographical novel, Black Boy, displays the process of Richard’s transformation from a young, impulsive boy to a mature, constantly questioning the man. As Richard opens his eyes to the deep racism hidden away in the cracks of the South, Richard’s family and work environment grow increasingly hostile. His realization that he must accept social boundaries that the whites have placed on blacks to survive leads him to move away from his town and attempt to go North in search of a fresh start.

Richard’s change in character and actions as he gradually grows is due to the environment that he faced once he began to work.

As a child, Richard is ignorant about the issues of black and white segregation, as he rarely has direct contact with any white people. He does not recognize the social power difference between blacks and whites, as he wonders “why had we[black people, not fought back” against the white person who had murdered his uncle (pg 55).

If Richard were more thoroughly educated on the social difference, he would have known that whites had too much power, too much influence, for the blacks to do much of anything. The adults, on the other hand, knew that an attack against the murderers would only provoke the white class, and more extreme consequences would result from it. Richard’s ignorance in seeing the lines between the two societies demonstrate the innocent view of the child that he was- that both blacks and whites could be treated in an equal manner.

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He even describes blacks and whites as “two sets of people, who lived side by side and never seemed to touch, it seemed, except in violence” (pg 47). Richard knows little about the dangerous consequences of crossing the line between the white world and the black world. His insignificant observances of the interactions are accurate but do not register well in his head to be mindful of them. During his early childhood, Richard is innocently unaware of the dark, invisible line that sits heavily between him and white society. As he grows older, Richard gradually begins to understand the rules of black and white society. He speaks of how his group of friends, black boys, and their enemies, white boys, begin to “play our traditional racial roles as though we had been born to them, as though it was in our blood, as though we were guided by instinct” (pg 83). He’s beginning to simply fall into the racial stereotype for the times, hating the whites, whereas before, he is questioning the coexistence between both races. Richard stops reasoning and follows along with what the rest of the black communities were doing, which is to be wary and hate white men. Richard’s knowledge of the differences between the two races is also demonstrated as he realizes the reality of the society around him- not the “reality” of a current-day person, but the “Negro’s reality of the white world” (pg 148). There is a clear distinction between the white world and the black world, and Richard can define it very easily. His understanding of the two different worlds can be seen as a cruel awakening, as he learns that the world around him is not at all fair, and is vastly different in power than the equality that the typical American dream promised. Richard’s acceptance of the barriers between black and white society begins to bloom during his teenage years, a rude shove away from his innocent childhood.

Richard truly recognizes the ins and outs of black and white classes once he moves to Memphis, where he works in an optical shop. Contrary to his childhood, he now knows how to “handle mental strain…or discovered deep within me ways to handle it” (pg 224). Richard is speaking of his new method of dealing with whites; he is quiet, submissive, and does whatever they wanted, as that was the only method of survival at the time. The lifestyle for a black person at the time is to be unnoticeable as possible to the whites, and, contrasting with his past actions, Richard learns to slip into the category of the typical young black man. At his workplace, he and his co-workers do the same, as they blend into the background even though they “hated[hate) and feared[fear] the whites…..assume silent, obedient smiles”(pg 229). Regardless of their feelings for the white men, they place their thoughts on mute and put forth a facade that falsely shows exactly what the whites want to see; a happy face with no complaints. A compliant, invisible face is what the black men give to their white co-workers, and Richard fits right into the mold. His old feelings, his old questioning of the unbalanced system between blacks and whites disappear, as he finally learns that his feelings only serve him the ugliest results. Richard as an adult is now completely conformed to what white America wants.

While facing real-world threats in his adult life as a working black man, Richard grasps the uniform performance of black men, something that he doesn’t yield to as a child. He dramatically transforms from an angry, loud child to a subdued, tamed man. Society often forms people to become the definition of what it wants, with a way of making people dissolve into the crowd. If it happens in America, the so-called land of equality, then it’s fairly simple to make the whole world conform to what is the social norm- and so, perhaps the human race is not progressing- maybe the world is just a needle stuck in a rut on a record player.