Black Boy by Richard Wright

Black Boy by Richard Wright

            The publication Black Boy is an autobiography of Richard Wright categorized into his early childhood, as an inquisitive black boy, to his adult years as a working individual in the wake of rigorous racial segregation in the West. Wright is brought out as an intricate individual in the publication, with his personality dotted with various psychological issues that account for his personality. In the first chapter, the reader is introduced to young Wright at the age of four. Wright is angered by his mother and in turn decides to spend his time by razing the house curtains. Aware of the impeding punishment, Wright flees and hides from his parents. The idea of dynamic psychology is hinted in these events as the association linking fear and thrill is brought out. It is believed that, the mentioned emotions exist as simultaneously within the conscious and sub-conscious elements of an individual. This can be seen with Wright experiencing fear of being beaten in his consciousness, and then the excitement of the same fear registered in his subconscious mind. This explains his involvement in more cases that earn him additional punishments.

As Wright hangs around a local bar, his conscious mind is soon subjected to a beer-taking obsession. In psychology, it is believed that an obsession arises from an invasive notion that has the ability to hamper an individual’s judgment against his will. Wright is punished by his mother for a long time and it is only at six years old that he manages to break the cycle. While living with his mother, Wright develops somnambulism commonly referred to as sleepwalking and instances of terrifying dreams. This affects his sleeping patterns and as the problem gets more severe, Wright suffers from insomnia. Psychologists believe that sleepwalking results from worry and stress, which Wright suffered from due to his mother’s paralytic condition. The nightmares are probably parts of Wright’s anima that he has concealed within himself by hiding his emotions in various instances when he is faced with challenging situations. Wright’s anima negatively influences his relationship with women as evidenced by the clashing nature with his mother, grandmother, Addie and his abhorrence towards females and hetero-relationships.

To mitigate sleepwalking, Wright is put under the guardianship of his relatives in Mississippi where he is separated from his stress source. Wright fits in well in his new home and actually recovers from his psychological strain. While living in Mississippi, Wright suffers from mania upon learning that his bedroom belonged to a demised child of his relatives. Wright is forced by his condition to return to his ailing mother whose state deteriorates upon her second stroke. Wright acquires paranoia while living with Addie and his grandmother where he brandishes a dagger under his headrest as a precaution against Addie. This behavior is an overreaction of his childhood fear regarding punishments. Wright acquires two jobs from white employers and this acts as a point of revelation for him regarding the segregation that separates the whites and the blacks. Wright still suffers from anger and this fits that stem from his perception that he has to earn respect and dignity through fights and finances. This problem escalates and one day he attacks Uncle Tom with a pair of razor blades due to a watch.

As Wright’s mother suffers a third stroke, the young adult has to detach himself from the mother by searching for a job in the distant north. Having had a father that deserted them at a young age, Wright’s affection to his mother develops an Oedipus complex. In all instances where he leaves home, the complex always draws him back to her. Having had a tendency towards sexual stimulation by watching adults urinate and spotting a couple having sex, Wright offends his grandmother during bathing time when he unconsciously asks her to kiss him. The womb envy that imparts in Wright craving for motherhood enhances his Oedipus complex. As Wright is ushered into his adulthood as he moves to the north, he is only able to break these psychological problems by writing, sharing his observations with individuals that share his perspectives in different areas and finally learning the gift of friendship that he had rejected in his childhood.