Richard Wright 's Short Stories

The Authors, Richard Wright and Zora Neale Hurston write two great stories, “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” and “The Gilded Six-Bits”. The main characters of the two stories Dave, Missie May, and Joe bring the stories to life. In the story, “The Gilded Six-Bits” Missie May and Joe have a conflict with a stranger, Otis Slemmons who promises them riche, but only causes chaos in their marriage. Dave in the story, “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” thinks having a makes him a man. The main purpose of the story being a man and becoming a man in two different perspectives.

Michael Wright was in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 at 8:48 in the morning. He is an account executive. Wright was a thirty-year-old man who witnessed the crash at the tower. It was Tuesday morning when Wright and his coworkers felt an “earthquake” when they were inside the men’s room. He then opened the door and was surprised by the fire gushing into the building. From there he tried to evacuate and get to a safe place if possible. Wright’s information was reported in Esquire News “My Escape From the 81st Floor of the World Trade Center”. The following is a narrative of what Wright ‘s day on September 11, 2001 could have been. He was in a good mood when this tragic event happened.

The personal essay “A Visit to the Library” (1945), written by Richard Wright suggests that reading can change the way racism is interpreted and its connection to the personal life of the Negros in the south. Wright supports his theses by explaining and giving details about his experience with co-workers, a librarian, and other white men. Wright purpose was to let people know that reading was important in order to be able to help understand racism and why it is so frowned on in the south.

“What is a rebel? A man who says no.” (Albert Camus, The Rebel) Black Boy is more than a mere autobiography, dealing with a man during the time of Jim Crow laws. Indeed, though the book is generally advertised as such, the greater theme here is not of the black man versus the white; it is of Richard’s fight against adversity, and the prevalent and constraining attitudes of not just his time, or the “White South”, but of the attitude of conformity throughout all time. Richard develops from birth to become a nonconformist; a rebel, and we can see this attitude throughout his whole life. As a child, he refuses to simply follow orders if they make no sense to him; for this, he is lashed repeatedly. As he grows older, he begins

The story “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” was written by Richard Wright. Wright was born near Natchez, Mississippi. When Wright was five, his father abandoned the family so wright was raised by a series of relatives in Mississippi. Wrights education never went further than junior high school. Wright then moved to Chicago, where he joined the WPA Writes Project. Wright wrote many story’s in his time and was well known for them. “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” is about a kid who thinks is a man, so he goes out and buys a gun, then practice’s shooting it while working and ends up killing a mule then runs away. The theme of “The Man who was Almost a Man” symbolizes the coming of age, racism and self-deception of the kid.

Undoubtedly, Richard Wright was a patient who was anything but stagnant. Almost every aspect of the youth was fickle, especially the world surrounding him. However, there was one significant feature of Richard that was not prone to transition: his frame of mind. After my first session with Richard, I perceived almost instantaneously that Richard was the sufferer of major depressive disorder. On the disposition spectrum, Richard lingered at the bottom with perpetual melancholy. His frame of mind was virtually static, with episodes of mania and normal mood few and far between. I took Richard under my wing with the sole intention of helping him contend with this monster of the human psyche. Let us review the progress Richard and I have made in that psychological strife.

     With Dave feeling as if he is no longer a boy, he felt he deserved respect. Dave wanted the entire town to respect him but really yearned for it mostly from his parents. He worked hard in the fields and the money that he earned went to his mother. ?Ol? man Hawkins give yuh mah money yit?,? Dave said to his mother. He felt that since he did the work, then he should get the money, or at least some of it. After killing the mule in an accident, Dave also wanted to regain the respect of his boss and the other townspeople. They tormented him for his immaturity and he wanted badly to change his perception and earn his respect back. ? All the crowd was laughing now.? The townspeople were laughing at ?Dave right after he accidentally shot the mule. ?Dave really wanted to be treated like a man but it seemed as if it would never happen. ?Damn em all Nobody ever gave him anything. All he did was work. They treat me like a mule, n then they beat me.?

While in the Communist Party, Richard's writings began to have a direct influence on many people. He was a leading contributor to the magazine and newspapers -"Daily Worker" and "New Masses" which held very controversial beliefs for the time. His novels, Uncle Tom's Children (1938) and Native Son (1940) were written while he was in the party. Richard was one of a few black men in the Communist Party and it was because of him that many black American's began to look to the Communist Party. Because of a lack of results and his outspoken militancy, Wright broke away from the party in 1944. The essay, "The God that Failed", gives an oversight to why Richard disagreed with the Communist party. According to the Communist Party, Richard was not writing about what they wanted such as ways to come together and fight against others,he was reflecting the life of the black American and the Communists found this to have little importance to what they were trying to portray.

Dave throws his morals aside and cons his mother out of the money by telling her that his father needs a gun in the house. This action shows how far Dave will go to obtain what he believes will make him a man. After buying the gun, he then begins his next

I enjoyed several aspects of this story while reading it. Wright recounts many hilarious yet relevant experiences from his life that keep readers entertained and informed. Because of his smooth writing skills, I was able to see how Richard’s understanding of race slowly evolved. When he is a child, Richard sees race merely as a trait rather than a social advantage or disadvantage. Since the author’s writing flows so well, I could tell how Richard developed into a dynamic character through the theme of race. On page 73, Richard states, “I did not know if the story

starts school, which he begins at a later age than other boys because his mother

However, Dave chooses to neglect his responsibilities once again by hopping a train to leave town. As long as he has the gun, he feels that he is a man. He leaves town, not thinking about how his family is affected by his actions. While Dave is selfish and unconcerned, James is selfless and compassionate. This can be attributed mainly to the boy's environment. Unlike Dave, James is exposed to the most impoverished conditions and can adapt to any situation. With six other family members in his household, there was little money to spare. However, Dave's environment was not impoverished. His family had the bare necessities and was even able to save money for winter clothes. They had food and never asked Dave to go out and hunt for them anything to eat. It is these circumstances that help to contribute to Dave's selfish desires when he wants to spend his work money foolishly on a gun instead of winter clothes, and again when he chooses to run away from his responsibilities.

Pancake’s narrator explains, “I worry about the hogs. I should have given them more slop, but when the first ones dies, the others will eat him quick enough” (Pancake 84) . This quote introduces the beginnings of a terrifying expedition that takes readers on a journey through the mind of a potential killer and helps them develop horrific theories about his questionable sanity. Breece DJ Pancake describes the travels of an unnamed narrator through the late hours of the night on a winter road as he plows to meet his acquaintance on the other end. Readers find quickly, however, the journey takes an abnormal turn as the thoughts of the killer are advanced. “Time and Again” develops the theoretical relationship between hogs and Satan through the symbolic

no matter how hard Richard made their lives they still manage to keep their faith in Christ. And although, later on Aunt Addie and Grandma Wright give up on Richard, they still managed to keep their faith.

"It is probably a mere accident that I never killed," states Richard Wright during an interview. (Kinnamon 596) Often times, an alternative people would turn to would be violence in a way to escape the world they lived in, but one man held so much inspiration over a society that was and still is shaded by prejudice. What many fail to realize is one can transform the direction of the way society works simply by using words. Because of Richard Wright’s writing style, he depicts the racism and bigotry set in American society in his novel and writes this story by using examples of his personal experiences to create an impact for the later generations.