American Race Relations and American Society - Essay Example

American race relations and American society Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 Relationship between Animosity and Humanity in the Text Les Chants De Maldoror 2 Example of Hunger in the book “Black Boy” by Richard Wright 3 Relation of the Book Unplugging Philco by Jim Knipfel with Post 911 3 Evolution of Richard’s Attitude towards White People and The Point at Which the Transition of Attitude Takes Place 4 Works Cited 9 Relationship between Animosity and Humanity in the Text Les Chants De Maldoror Les Chants de Maldoror or The Songs of Maldoror is a novel written in the poetic form. It is actually a very long poem written in prose form comprising six cantos. Written between the years 1868 and 1869 under the pseudonym of French writer who was actually born in Uruguay as Isidore Lucien Ducasse, the poetic novel comprises myriad morbid themes. Thematically, the poem can be termed nihilistic and there is no neat clarification of the plot for the poetic-novel in the classical sense, but the narrative style of the poem, which is quite non-linear in form and surrealistic in nature does signifies a life trajectory of the protagonist Maldoror of the poetic-novel who is misanthropic in nature and can be seen as an absolute embodiment of evil spirit. The figure of Maldoror is set against the icon like God or humanity in the novel and from this platform a contrasting study of animosity versus humanity can be evolved. Maldoror is pitted against humanity and thereby his character has all the vices that are against morality in the conventional sense and decency. The tone of the entire novel is very violent and indicates a foreboding and stark appeal of macabre activities throughout the plot. The imageries of the novel are influenced from the contemporary gothic literature. The iconoclastic and evolution of a negative or anti-hero in the novel who is desperate to defy the ways of God justified on man makes it a figure pitted against humanity. A deep delineation of the thematic treatment presented particularly in the last eight stanzas falling under the final cantos of the novel indicate a separate novel within the main poem that deals only with the story of seduction and eventual murder of the youth. The ghastly description of the crimes in this section of the novel particularly assumes a dehumanized or animal standpoint in the novel which is very much pitted against humanity (Lautrâeamont 60-120). Example of Hunger in the book “Black Boy” by Richard Wright “Black Boy” is an autobiographic novel of the writer Richard Wright written in the year 1945. While navigating through the plot of this autobiographic novel, one can find the stories of a deprived childhood, the relationships between races in the South and author’s gradual transfer to Chicago where his insights of life instigates him to join the Communist Party gradually and explore his career as a writer. In this novel, amid many themes and motifs Hunger both physical and mental has appeared recurrently. Physical hunger is assertive in the novel by repetitive mention of Richard’s craving for good and more food. However, the motif of hunger which is non-physical or mental in the memoir surfaces out a number of times as well. Richard is hungry for socio-political issues, he is hungry to learn more and he reads medical journals at night after a tiresome day at his menial jobs. Richard is hungry for literature and art. Physical hunger is a mere symbol in the novel indicating a huge space or vacuum in the society. His eventual conclusion that food is very less important as regards to the much more serious problems faced by the world indicates his mental hunger and craving for his food for thought (Wright 280-335). Relation of the Book Unplugging Philco by Jim Knipfel with Post 911 Unplugging Philco is a novel by Jim Knipfel published in the year, 2009. It is a fictitious novel where Knipfel portrays an anonymous attack at the near future from Australia on America. America declares war on Australia due to the fictitious attack named ‘The Horribleness’. The life in and around the cities Tupelo, Mississippi and Brooklyn changes in a weird way, changing the life of the city and the inhabitants, specially Wally Philco the protagonist of the novel. The day of Horribleness changes the mindset of the city entirely. And starting from earthquake to bus accident, people start to believe the hands of the terrorist group behind it. There is an atmosphere of restlessness, trauma and disbelief all around. Though hinted and culminated satirically, the novel examines in a very subtle way, the post effect of 911 on American society. The ambiance of disbelief penetrated into the mindset of the people to the extent that they did not even spared their next-door neighbors with whom they have so much of memories of happy and gay days. Likewise, portrayed in the novel, is the fact that government also played the role of catalyst to make the atmosphere of suspicion sustaining, where Wally Philco and his neighborhood has been instructed by the government as well to keep watch on their locality and report immediately if someone unconventional person, behavior or thing is noticed (Knipfel 136-248). Evolution of Richard’s Attitude towards White People and The Point at Which the Transition of Attitude Takes Place Richard Wright’s Memoir “Black Boy” presents a strong theory of race relation within the text. It is a life trajectory of a boy and mostly concern his childhood and early adulthood. ‘Southern Night’ and ‘The Horror and the Glory’ are the two parts of the book. The section ‘Southern Night’ deals with Wright’s childhood that was mostly spend in South and the section “The Horror And The Glory” tells about Richard’s initiation of adulthood in Chicago. Racial influences captivate the mind of Richard right from his early days of boyhood. He grows into an atmosphere where he is surrounded by women who are very strict and religious and men who are very violent and irresponsible. Richard is not able to come out of the clutches of this disturbed household at his very tender age. At the outset of the memoir, Richard is seen setting fire at his grandmother’s house and that too at the age of four only. He did it again and again and completely in vein. Nevertheless, a notable change in character of Richard was marked as he grew up. Richard with his growing age became more and more inquisitive about his surroundings and steps out of the conventionalities around gradually. As a young boy, he gets irritated with his present atmosphere and takes refuge in books instead of playing with his friends at neighborhood. At a very young age, he even rejects church and shows a strong affinity towards atheism. All these were quite strong indications of Richard growing and inculcating ideals quite strong and out of the box. He gets more outside common sphere of his locale, when he witnesses and becomes victim of scathing racism of South during 1920s. The racial discrimination not only gave him a feeling of alienation and a sense of injustice inflicted upon him but it also gave him a certain feeling where he was having a threat of getting squashed of his intellect and potentials by whites and other blacks as well. This phenomenon at a general level made Richard a lonely boy at heart. Torn asunder amid a fanatic grandmother, sick mother and many uncles and aunts after the desertion of the family by his father, Richard watches his family almost starving to death. Furthermore, as he steps outside into the world of whites to find a job, he encounters violent racism and brutally becomes victim of the racial discriminations in America which leave a deep scar in his mind for the rest of his life. It is worthy to note at this point of the evolution of Richard’s attitude towards whites that the word hunger as a latent theme and potent motif or image appears before the readers while navigating through the pages of the book, “Black Boy”. Hunger is denoted more a sort of a socio-economic hunger in the book, rather than physical hunger. Wright connotes the hunger as American Hunger and in doing so he tries to present an idea where there is a huge space or vacuum in the American society and culture as well where the Afro-Americans are not been able to get included whole heartedly. Richard mentions repeatedly in his book that hunger for food can be managed easily, but the social hunger with which America needs to fight way back is a real trouble to cope up with. Like most of the African Americans residing in South, Northern part of the country seems a better place for the blacks with teeming possibilities, Richard and his aunt moves to Chicago as well with same kind of dream for a better and equal life. At this point of Richard’s life, he starts to form and evaluate race relations in America from a more concrete bent and he finds North a much less captivated within the stark clutches of racism. He goes out to work in the day and takes up several menial jobs like washing the floor. His incessant love for reading compels him to read Proust and other medical journals amid day’s hard work and starving conditions at night. Next Richard takes up a job at the Post Office. Here, he comes across few White men. And for the first time in his life, he unfolds himself before any White man sharing cynical ideas about his religious and political ideas. On their invitation to a club bearing the title, John Reed Club he joins it and finds that the organization is engaged in promoting change in society. He engages himself with a magazine named Left Front and eventually gets involved with the Communist Party arranging writers and artists for the party. Precisely, after joining the Communist Party his attitude towards the white people changes a lot when he tries to be friend with the black members of the party. An eternal significance of communal affinity, but he finds that the condition of the blacks in the North and also within the party are not much better than the African American he has left back at South. They are afraid to ask questions or step outside their known periphery and conventionalities. Ever inquisitive Richard at this point of his life finds the White more straightforward and brave who can at least follow what they believe and fight for their set ideals. Richard gradually finds Communism much hollow as well and tries to leave the party. His attempt to leave the party brands him as ‘counter-revolutionary’ and the members threat him to change different jobs and tries to keep him away from its other members. Richard however, had some affinity towards the ideals of unity, tolerance and equality envisaged by the party but pitying their confusion regarding the concepts he does not engage himself into any kind of brawl with the party members. Richard ends his book with the notion that more than the physical hunger in life; every individual does suffer from certain socio-economic and socio-cultural hunger which is gradually crippling the society. It is easier to tackle the physical hunger but the starvation of mind is a fight at a greater realm and he launches a revolution which he looks forward to continue through his writing, an eternal hunger which he possessed. Life is depicted as a trajectory by Richard Wright in his memoir, “Black Boy”. His matured sense of race relations and his mind set on a more neutral scale initiates after his shift to Chicago. However, his continuous reading habits enable his wider vision and insight towards the racial relations pertaining in American Society. His identification of ‘American Hunger’ is also the result of his ever-inquisitive mind since his boyhood which enables him to frame conclusions regarding it. And he understood it early that locking oneself into the protective cocoon of communal shields, one can never get the glimpse of actual world around. After unfolding his mind before the White people, Richard was able to come out of his mental blockage or taboo regarding the whites and finally understood that there are also certain virtues in them which enable them to appear superior as a race. Richard’s wide vision of life and society enables him to form a balanced view upon life which can be also treated as his education towards a better comprehension of American race relations and American society enabling a change of Richard’s attitude towards the whites (Andrews and Taylor 20-142). Works Cited Andrews, William Leake. and Douglas Edward Taylor. Richard Wright's Black Boy (American Hunger): A Casebook. United States of America: Oxford University Press, 2003. Print. Knipfel, Jim. Unplugging Philco: A Novel. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2009. Print. Lautrâeamont, Comte de. Maldoror (Les chants de Maldoror). New York: New Directions Publishing, 1965. Print. Wright, Richard. Black Boy. New York: HarperCollins, 2009. Print. Read More