Theme of Racism and Oppression in Baldwin James Go Tell it on the Mountain and Richard Wright Black Boy

Theme of Racism and Oppression in Baldwin James Go Tell it on the Mountain and Richard Wright Black Boy

Abstract

This research work examined the theme of Racism and oppression in Baldwin James’s Go tell it on the Mountain and Richard Wright’s Black Boy. As portrayed by the two authors, the study showed that racism and oppression are considered as hindrance to the Blacks who lives in every part of the world today especially during colonialism, slave trade even up till date.

 The study has also showed that these whites see the blacks as animals at the same time they regard the black’s skin-colour as stains  that can easily affect their own colour, they  therefore stays far from the blacks to avoid diases these consequently makes these whites to imposes affliction, trauma, disillusionment, oppression  and also  discriminates these  Blacks because of race.

The authors portrays these problems of the Black- Americans such as; poverty, hunger, restriction of human rights, like right to association, movement, rights to economic wealth, right to  political participation.  Again, the study also showed that the Blacks died of starvation this consequently makes them to fight against oppression, maltreatment as seen the in the two novels.

Theme of Racism and Oppression in Baldwin James Go Tell it on the Mountain and Richard Wright Black Boy

CHAPTER THREE

RACISM AND OPRESSION IN WRIGHT’S BLACK BOY

3.1 Analysis of Wright’s Black Boy

The novel, Black Boy is an autobiography which is based on motifs including defiance of authority, physical and emotional violence and also hunger for food, knowledge, life and affection. There is also a depiction of religious aspects serving as a means of social control, race and literacy.

Richard Wright comes up with the idea that authority should not be built on truth, not on traditions, or power. The violence, oppression and racism in Black Boy as portrayed by the author, is extremely important because it is the basic thing which authority keeps relying on instead of argument.

CHAPTER FOUR

THE THEME OF RACISM AND OPPRESSION IN JAMES BALDWIN’S GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN

4.1 Analysis of Baldwin’s Go tell it on the Mountain

Go Tell It on the Mountain is one of Baldwin’s novels that depicts the insidious effects of systemic racism, producing for us a glimpse of the inhumanity that is the second and third generation result of the era of American slavery that took place virtually from the period of colonization through the American Civil War.

Theme of Racism and Oppression in Baldwin James Go Tell it on the Mountain and Richard Wright Black Boy

The novel takes place in 1935, only 73 years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1862. The novel portrays the evil of racism, oppression and dehumanization that the blacks passed through in the hands if the white.

The novel chronicles the experiences of its main character, John Grimes, in Harlem in 1935. The novel opens on the morning on John’s fourteenth birthday and centers on the events that lead up to his spiritual conversion later that evening. The narrator narrates history of his family especially that of his stepfather Gabriel, a preacher in Temple of the Fire Baptized and  his aunt Florence, Gabriel’s sister and of his mother Elizabeth(3). All of these stories add poignancy and context to John’s efforts to come to terms with his present and his future.

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