Before the 1920s and the Harlem Renaissance, the voice of African American fiction was relegated to stories derived from folk traditions. Tales, fables, trickster stories, and preacher tales dominated the body of African American literature. And through these stories, a self-perpetuating stereotype of black identity has spread across America, not only in white communities, but also in African-American communities. Until the 1920s, African Americans were well aware of their role as subaltern and did little to overcome their prescribed status. However, the Harlem Renaissance and the works generated by this era inherently changed how African Americans saw themselves. They struggled to discover exactly what it meant to be black in America; they wanted a definition that could agree between being American and black. As Addison Gayle observed in The Black Aesthetic, “There is always a sense of duality: an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled efforts; two conflicting ideals in one dark body, whose tenacious strength alone prevents it from being torn to pieces” (xxii). This black aesthetic was a blueprint for African Americans to find identity and cultural value in a world that was still inherently foreign. This search for identity is reflected in Richard Wright's novel Black Boy. In this book, Wright embarks on a journey into adulthood in search of a place where he can be both black and comfortable in his ethnicity. Look for a place to build your own experiences rather than remake them from images of white culture. Through Black Boy, Wright highlights the desire of African Americans to assert an existence of their own in the face of the dominant status quo of white America. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Wright makes many references to hunger in his book. And indeed, throughout Black Boy, Richard and his family struggle with malnutrition. In the days following his father's departure, Richard and his family are forced to go to bed without having eaten anything. The notion of hunger and malnutrition is repeated throughout the body of the text; however, this hunger is also metaphorical of Richard's deep desire to find his place in the world. It is this hunger for social commitment and ceaseless artistic expression that Richard chooses to satisfy instead of food. It was this type of livelihood that separated him from other African Americans in the South and spurred his journey north toward an identity he could call his own. Through his deep desire for personal intellectual freedom, Wright becomes the prototype of a new definition of African American. However, this intellectual hunger is not understood by those around him. Richard is subsequently ostracized not only by other blacks, but also by his family. Through his separation, Wright counters what Carolyn Gerald called “image zero,” or the stereotype established by the white community and propagated by negative images of blacks in mainstream art, film, and literature (Dobie 198). Wright's diffusion of black identity stood in stark contrast to the attitudes of other African Americans at the time. In Black Boy, Wright's actions directly contradict the rest of the black community. For example, in a passage where Richard converses with his friend Griggs, he says to Richard, “Dick, look, you're black, black, black, see? … You don't act like that at all” (Wright 183). This dialogue reveals the inherent differences between Richard and the black community. Not only do they fail to understand Richard's ambivalence towards thestratification of racial identity in the South, but they condemn it for this too. He makes no apologies for his color, and even though Griggs teaches him how to "get out of the white way," Richard fails to see any kind of superiority in the white skin tone (184). Wright explains the origins of this attitude in chapter three in the passage: At the age of twelve, before I had completed a full year of formal schooling, I had a conception of life that no experience would ever erase, a predilection for what was real that no argument could ever contradict it, a sense of the world that was mine and mine alone, an idea of ​​what life meant that no education could ever alter, a belief that the meaning of life came only when one struggled to extract something from it. meaning. of senseless suffering (100). This suffering is exposed for Richard as a boy, when he fully realizes the undeniable dangers of being black in the South. After his uncle is killed, Richard knows full well that his life depends on the mercy of the white ruling class. However, his intellect prevents him from furthering his own submission. As Yoshinobu Kakutani states, Wright is most troubled by the “inability of blacks to recognize the malice in the minds of white racists” (71). Having seen the ferocity of white supremacy, Richard is still unable to submit to the will of the South and all its racial doctrines. Wright's problem with other blacks is evident in his work with his neighbor, the insurance agent. He sees the manifestation of illiteracy and subjugation in the black families he visits. He states, “I saw a bare, desolate pool of black life and I hated it; the people were similar, their houses were similar, and their farms were similar” (137). The thirst that drives Richard to push the boundaries of what a black teenager in the South should be was not granted to these families. In their situation he sees a perpetual cycle of marginalization that he despises. The fact that Wright is unable to find a place within his own culture leads him to create his own. His relationship with other Southern blacks is a tenuous acquaintance made at the same time of pity and aberration. Therefore, his inability to find a home in the black community forces Richard to turn to himself for support. His hunger for something more than being “black” creates a rift between him and the definition of a black man in the South. Another example of Wright's hunger driving him to be an outsider is his relationship with his family. With the exception of his mother, Richard is seen as a sinner by his immediate family and one whose intellect is a product of the Devil. His grandmother and aunts often hit him for his disrespectful speech and defiant ways. Richard often finds himself running away from relatives who want to punish him for various actions or inactions. His uncle, for example, wants to beat him for his tone of voice. Richard reacts by saying, “…you won't whip me. You are a stranger to me. You don't support me” (159). After going back and forth, his uncle finally tells him that someone will break his spirit one day. But it is this spirit that remains undaunted and unrepentant. Even after his uncle tells him that Richard will never do anything, he replies that he doesn't care about such a statement. The exchange between Richard and his uncle is in many ways symbolic of the battle for an African American's place in the South. Wright denies anyone telling him what he can and cannot say or do. This passage further explains Richard's feeling of being a homeless person. Richard's Aunt Addie and his grandmother also try to mold him into their image by force. On several occasions, his relatives force him into religion in the hope of saving himthe soul. His reading and writing adventures are seen as heretical and Richard receives no support from his family. Because of his reluctance to submit to their religious practices, his value as a human being is devalued. He then becomes a subordinate in his house. His grandmother's whiteness symbolizes her position in the house towards Richard. His dominance brings out the rebellious side in him, much the same way his interactions with white people do. His refusal to submit to his religious demands symbolizes his unwavering intellectual valor in the face of hostility. Another example of Wright's ambivalence towards the status quo is his refusal to give the graduation speech prepared for him. Since there were to be white people at the ceremony, Wright had to read a speech prepared by the principle. However, he refuses to read the speech, which upsets his peers. Her principle rescinds her offer to allow Richard to teach school due to his defiance. His uncle also tries to convince him to read the speech, but Richard still refuses. This refusal is not simply a refusal to adhere to the desires of others, but also a refusal to submit to the will of a culture that seeks to assert its own superiority. Aside from Wright's relationships with the characters in the text, Black Boy's language also represents a challenge to the marginalization of African Americans and creates a prototype of black identity. Black Boy is quite accessible due to its lack of direct profanity and violence, which in turn allows for a broad reader base. According to Jennifer Poulos, the availability and accessibility of the novel created an altruistic form of self-expression that challenged the racist status quo (54). The fact that the black community could actually read was in itself a challenge to the racist paradigms of the South, which believed that such intellectual outlets posed a danger to their dominant status. In this sense, when Wright actually used profanity in the text, the result was one of personal empowerment; Richard had control over what was said. For example, when Richard was caught swearing by his aunt Jodi, the dialogue was in response to an inanimate object, and therefore in context, somewhat justified. However, in the earlier part of the text, when Richard was being used as a source of entertainment by the bar patrons, the actual text of the dialogue was missing from the book. This absence once again asserted power over the dialogue. Richard had no idea what the words he was saying actually meant, and therefore it would have detracted from his character if the swear words had been remembered accurately. This strategy, according to Poulos, kept the text serious and placed the power firmly in Wright's hands to prevent critics from dismissing the work as profane or obscene (55). However, Wright did not avoid the profane in his description of whites. For example, when Richard took the job at the optical store, one of the employees stops him and asks him “… how long is your thing… the one the bull on the cow uses… I heard a nigga can stick his dick in the ground and spin on it like a top” (Wright 188). This dialogue infuriates the character, but it also shows the type of low class used in white dialect. The transition between Richard and his colleagues culminates in a physical threat, in which Reynolds yells, “If you say you didn't do it, I'll rip your rope off with this fucking bar, you cheating black grandma! You can't call a white man a liar and get away with it!” (190). This statement mirrors the image Wright gives the reader when he states that white people viewed black people as animals. This exchange is ironic as in, 1998.