- Collection:
- Atlanta University and Clark Atlanta University Theses and Dissertations
- Title:
- Conflict between the individual and the community in the early works of Richard Wright, 2006
- Creator:
- Armstrong, Benjamin D.
- Date of Original:
- 2006-05-01
- Subject:
- Degrees, Academic
Dissertations, Academic - Location:
- United States, Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta, 33.749, -84.38798
- Medium:
- theses
- Type:
- Text
- Format:
- application/pdf
- Description:
- Since gaining prominence in the late 1930s, author Richard Wright has had his works subject to a steady literary analysis seeking to place his writings into a proper context. Is there a central theme to Wright's works? Using Wright's autobiographical Black Bov as a template, this thesis uncovers a twofold yearning of central importance to Wright's main characters: the need for individuality, the preservation and continued integrity of the protagonists' physical, mental, and emotional well-being, and the need for community, a social arena in which the protagonists can meet and connect with other human beings on an equal basis. The main character's relentless quest for a place in which his two goals can be met it is the central tenet of Richard Wright's early fiction. His relationships-emotional bonds with family, sexual bonds with women, and ideological bonds with Christians, Communists and other groups-are to be evaluated by that metric alone. By using Black Boy as a means through which to view the actions of characters in other works, this study will show that for Wright's main characters tire twin desire for individuality and community dictate the course of every action.
- External Identifiers:
- Metadata URL:
- http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/cau.td:2006_armstrong_benjamin_d
- Rights Holder:
- Clark Atlanta University
- Holding Institution:
- Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library
- Rights:
-
