Sunday, March 8, 2009
North
It’s a positive change for Wright to leave the South. While living in Tennessee and Mississippi, Wright felt afraid and caged. In the South, he had been threatened and mistreated by white men. The South held his mother’s stroke, his uncle’s murder, and years of abuse and malnourishment. When Wright escapes the South, he leaves behind distressing memories, a diet of lard and beans, and a place where unhappiness seems content. The North is not Zion, but it’s a great improvement from the violent South. In the North, prejudice against blacks is not rampant, and there are no stifling “Colored Only” signs. Harriet Jacobs from “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” was unable to find well-being in the North because of her high expectations of northern people, but I think Wright has more realistic expectations of what he will find and who he will meet in the North.
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Though I agree that society might be better for Wright in the North than in the South, I wouldn't guarantee that it would be a positive change. Wright knows nothing about how to act in the North. Just because the rules surrounding racial prejudice are less pronounced doesn't mean that they aren't still there. Even if they are significantly different, it would probably be very hard on Richard to make such a drastic change over such a short period of time. That sort of thing brings hefty stress on everyone, and since Wright's been raised in such an oppressive environment, I think the transition will be even harder for him. It'll probably be possitive in the long run, though.
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