Journal: Notes
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Native sons
Summary- this is a story of a man called Bigger Thomas. Bigger is a twenty years old black man
living in the southern Chicago? It is an area characterized by black residents. He is poor and
uneducated. He grows up in a culture where racism is upheld. Due to his experiences, he believes
that the whites are superior. His mother gets him a job with a white man but he refuses and joins
a gang. They decide to rob a white man. Biggers perception of a white man as superior makes
him so inferior that he sabotages the robbery because he can’t overcome his fears. He eventually
gets a job with a white capitalist, Mr. Dalton. Dalton has a daughter called Mary whom is a
capitalist. She is dating a a communist. Bigger takes her to see her boyfriend and they make out
in the car as he drives. Bigger is aroused and as he helping Mary into her bed he kisses her.
When her mother finds them he suffocates her with a pillow and she dies. He burns her and lies
to her father that her communist boyfriend is responsible. Eventually, the truth is revealed and he
is taken to court. Mary’s boyfriend gets him counsel who tries to defend his actions as a result of
racial segregation.
Economic impoverishment
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Bigger and his family live in a one room that is rat infested
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The mother is uneducated and cannot raise $8 to pay rent
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His family depends on the relief agency for food
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The mother insists on him to get a job to help her.
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He wants to be an aviator but can’t afford so he becomes a chauffeur: "If you wasn't
black and if you had some money and if they'd let you go to that aviation school, you
could fly a plane," Gus said. For a moment Bigger contemplated; then both boys broke
into hard laughter
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He is stunned by the wealth of the Daltons.
Class conflict
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Bigger and his friends plan to rob a white
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Bigger fears the white force and he attacks his gang member to sabotage the plans.
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Mary and max hide while associating with the blacks communists.
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He does not receive fair trial for the murder case. It is in the interest of the powerful
whites
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His mother insists that he gets a job so that their living standards could improve.
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White are portrayed as cultured, rich and attractive. Blacks are impoverished servants.
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There is Joblessness in the southern Chicago where the blacks live.
Pursuit for power
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There are two groups of people, powerful and powerless in the book.
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Ma tries to influence the son to get a job to increase their resource power so that they can
live a better life.
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Daltons pretend to care through philanthropies yet it is a scheme to advance their power
quest by overpricing the housing in the south.
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The whites use the justice system against the blacks to advance their power as the
superior race.
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Bigger uses his power to intimidate others. The woman on the bed continued to sob.
Bigger took a piece of newspaper and gingerly lifted the rat by its tail and held it out at
arm’s length.
"Bigger, take ‘im out," Vera begged again.
Bigger laughed and approached the bed with the dangling rat, swinging it to and fro like a
pendulum, enjoying his sister’s fear.
"Bigger!" Vera gasped convulsively; she screamed and swayed and closed her eyes and
fell headlong across her mother and rolled limply from the bed to the floor.
"Bigger, for God’s sake!" the mother sobbed, rising and bending over Vera. "Don’t do
that! Throw that rat out!" (1.66-70)
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Uncle toms children
Summary- it is a combination of six stories. First is, the Ethics of Living Jim Crow. It is a
description of racial segregation of the black people. Wright narrates his experience and the
rejection he faces as a child while playing with white children. as a young man he is despised by
his colleagues and they beat him up when he attempts to learn new skills on his work. He is
annoyed by the way the black youths are treated. They have to work in the presence of naked
white prostitute but they are not allowed to touch them. Any attempt to sexually relate with the
whites results in castration. On the contrary, white men exploit black women sexually. The
blacks are forced to remain silent in the presence of the whites because any words they utter
could be used against them. Even saying thank you can be reason for punishment.
Second, big boy leaves home. This is a story of a boy with his three friends. They are living at a
time when racism is prevalent. The four boys decide to swim in a white man’s swimming pool.
As they do so, the white man’s wife finds them and she screams for help. Her husband responds
to the cries with a rifle in his hand. He shoots two of the boys and they die. Big boy grabs the
gun and he shoots the white army man. He escapes with his friend Bobo. Their families arrange
for them to escape and they send them to a hide out. Before Bobo can get to the hideout, he is
captured and beaten to death by a mob. Big boy witnesses the incident and it scares him. The
story ends as big boy is contemplating about his friends` deaths.
Third, is down by the riverside. This is a story about a man called Mann. A flood occurs and
Mann has to secure his expectant wife, his son and her mother to the hills. He does not have a
boat and he resolve to selling his donkey to obtain money to buy a boat. His wife goes into labor
and it requires taking her to the hospital. He gets a boat and they set out for the hills. When he
gets to the first house at the hills, he calls for help but the owner responds with gunshots. Mann
shoots the house owner. By the time he reaches the hospital, his wife and the unborn baby die.
The soldiers escort him and his mother in law away. Mann and a black boy are called to help
evacuate a family which turns out to be the family of the man he killed. The small boy in that
family recognizes him and is about to shout at his sight but Mann raises his axe to hit him. The
floods shake the house and he stops. When they get to safety, the young boy identifies Mann as
his father’s killer. The soldier catches Mann and as he tries to flee they shoot him dead.
Fourth is the Long Black Song. This is the story of a black couple named Silas and Sarah. Silas
is a framer. Sarah is not sure about her love for silas because she has feelings for another man. A
white man comes into her home to sell recorders. Sarah falls for him and they have sex on her
bed. When Sila realizes that Sarah has been unfaithful with a white man he beats her up and
fights with the white man. He eventually kills the white man. A crowd of white people gang up
against him and they burn him for his action.
Fifth is fire and cloud. This is the story about reverend Taylor. It starts with him thinking about
the good old days when there was plenty; the thought is triggered by the problems the blacks are
going through. The blacks are organizing a march against the racial segregation by the whites.
They need reverend Taylor to endorse their march so that there can be a high turnout. Taylor is
skeptical about it because he sees that if he endorses the march against the rich and powerful
whites, they will never give him anything for his people. The pro-marching team meets him and
at the same time the mayor comes to ask him not to endorse the march. He decides to share the
information with the deacons. Deacon Smith informs on him and the white beat Taylor up. As a
result Taylor endorses the marching. The pain of the beating is the fire while the marching
crowded is the fire cloud like the one God used to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
Sixth is bright and morning star. This is a story about an old lady called sue. It starts as Sue is
waiting for her son to come home as she reflects on how faith in God helped her to overcome the
feeling of oppression caused by the racial segregation. The whites oppress the blacks and it leads
sue and her sons to join the communist party. One of her son is jailed for communism. The other
son Johnny boy is an organizer of communist activities. As sue is sited outside her house
reflecting, Reva a white communist comes and informs her that there is a sheriff informer among
the communists. She tells him that the sheriff is aware of a planned communist meeting. When
her son comes sue tells him to inform the comrades. The sheriff comes when her son leaves. He
tries to make her to give up information on the communist but she does not. He beats her up and
tells her to carry a sheet to bury her son’s body. He is accompanied by booker the informer. Sue
wraps a gun in a sheet and she goes to look for her son. She finds him in the forest as the sheriff
is torturing him. When booker appears, she shoots him dead. The sheriff’s guards shoot Sue and
her son. She dies in content as she has fulfilled her purpose of protecting her fellow communists.
Economic impoverishment
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Wright lives in the south the only place where the poor blacks can afford.
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Wright works as a bellboy in a hotel and he has to withstand the nakedness of the white
prostitutes since it is his only means of livelihood.
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Mann in down by the river side wants to move his family to safety but he cannot afford a
boat. He sells his donkey to afford one.
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Mann takes his wife to the Red Cross hospital since it is the only place he can afford.
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When Sarah’s baby cries, she gives her an old broken clock to play with since it is all she
can afford as a toy.
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The white man who comes to sell his ware to Sarah sees that she is hesitating to buy the
clock. He assures her that she can buy the clock in
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Reverend Taylors congregation depends on relief food for survival.
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Taylor does not want to disappoint the whites because they may cut the aid they offer to
his people
Pursuit for power
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When they reached the park that separated the white district from the black, the poor
whites were waiting. Taylor trembled when he saw them join, swelling the mass that
moved toward the town. He looked ahead and saw black and white marching; he looked
behind and saw black and white marching...
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Invisible man
Summary-Invisible man is the story narrated in first person. The narrator says he is invisible
because people have refused to see him. He is living in the underground. He is a black young
man who is gifted with public speaking skills. He is invited to make a speech presentation to a
group of white men who offer him a scholarship. They mock him and other black men before
giving him the scholarship. While at the college, he is assigned the task of driving one of the
college trustees, Mr. Norton, around the college. He talks of a black man who impregnated his
daughter and this gives him an urge to drink. The narrator takes him to a black joint. A fight
occurs and Norton faints. The narrator is chastised and expelled by the school president. He is
given letters of recommendation and sent to New York. He is unable to find a job in because the
letters give describe him in a negative manner. He meets Mr. Emerson’s son who helps him to
get a job in a paint manufacturing company. He is an assistant to Brockway. One time they argue
and fight and the paint tank explodes on them. The narrator is taken to the hospital. When the
doctors see him they choose to conduct experiments on him since he is a black man. After he
recovers, some blacks take him to Harlem where he lives with Mary. He gets an opportunity to
exercise his public speaking skills as he condemns the eviction of an elderly black couple. The
black’s brotherhood notices him and he is recruited into the group. In the group he faces
opposition from some leaders and he gets into trouble many times. One time he is called to go to
Harlem, he arrives to find people rioting after being incited by one of his brotherhood enemies,
Ras. He gets involved in the riot by lighting a house. As he is running from the scene, he meets
Ras who incite the mob to lynch him. He runs from the mob only to meet with the police. They
suspect that he is handling stolen goods and they chase after him. He falls into a manhole as he is
running. The police think he will die there and they cover it instead of helping him out. From that
day, he lives in the underground. Towards the end of the story he sees that he should not abandon
his responsibility to his community. He should stand for his black identity. For him it is time to
resume his duty as a member of the black community.
Economic impoverishment
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The narrator lives in the south. It is the only place the blacks can afford to reside.
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The narrator is humiliated before he is offered the scholarship. He with stands the
humiliation because he knows it is his only chance.
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After the college expulsion, he finds himself naked and helpless in that modern city-ofthe-plain, New York,
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After his hospital ordeal, he lives in Harlem with Mary. Harlem is a poor neighborhood
for blacks.
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At Harlem an elderly couple is evicted from their house for failure of paying rent.
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Class conflict
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Blacks have to play by the white man’s rules.
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The brotherhood struggles to stand up for the black man I the racist society but internal
wrangles hinder them.
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The narrator figures out from underground that time has come for him to rise. Meaning
time has come for the invisible blacks to take their place in the society.
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The narrator struggles to end individual oppression through his public speaking skills and
he attempts to liberate other members of his community.
Pursuit for power
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I am invisible; understand, simply because people refuse to see me. (Prologue.1). the
narrator wants to rise from the underground and become visible.
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That is why I fight my battle with Monopolated Light & Power. The deeper reason, I
mean: It allows me to feel my vital aliveness. I also fight them for taking so much of my
money before I learned to protect myself (Prologue.7)
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"Tell anyone you like," he said. "I don't care. I wouldn't raise my little finger to stop you
because I don't owe anyone a thing, son. Who, Negroes? Negroes don't control this
school or much of anything else – haven't you learned even that? No sir, they don't
control this school, nor white folk either. True they support it, but I control it. It's big and
black and I say 'Yes, suh' as loudly as any burr head when it's convenient, but I'm still the
king down here. I don't care how much it appears otherwise. Power doesn't have to show
off. Power is confident, self-assuring, self-starting and self-stopping, self-warming and
self-justifying. When you have it, you know it. Let the Negroes snicker and the crackers
laugh! Those are the facts, son. The only ones I even pretend to please are big white
folks, and even those I control more than they control me. This is a power set-up, son,
and I'm at the controls. You think about that. When you buck against me, you're bucking
against power, rich white folk's power, the nation's power – which means government
power!" (6.73)
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But more than that, he was the example of everything I hoped to be: Influential with
wealthy men all over the country; consulted in matters concerning the race; a leader of
his people; the possessor of not one, but two Cadillacs, a good salary and a soft, goodlooking and creamy-complexioned wife. What was more, while black and bald and
everything white folks poked fun at, he had achieved power and authority; had, while
black and wrinkle-headed, made himself of more importance in the world than most
Southern white men. They could laugh at him but they couldn't ignore him… (4.14)
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I'm still the king down here. I don't care how much it appears otherwise. Power doesn't
have to show off. Power is confident, self-assuring, self-starting and self-stopping, selfwarming and self-justifying. When you have it, you know it. . . . When you buck up
against me, you're bucking up against power, rich white folk's power, the nation's power-which means government power. (142)
The bourgeoisie is unfit any longer to be the ruling class of society, and to impose its conditions
of existence upon society as an over-riding law. It is unfit to rule because it is incompetent to
assure an existence to its slave within his slavery, because it cannot help letting him sink into
such a state, that it has to feed him, instead of being fed by him. Society can no longer live under
this bourgeoisie, in other words, its existence is no longer compatible with society. (Marx,
Communist Manifesto 93)
Black boy
Summary- black boy is the story of Richard writs childhood and struggle with racism. It starts
with Richard accidentally setting his grandmother’s house on fire. He is surrounded by
irresponsible men who do not take proper care of their families. The female in his life are highly
religious. Richard chooses his own path of empowering himself with education. Despite the
racial hindrances and his discouraging family, he is determined to excel in education. He excels
in writing and he is employed in various places due to his ability to write creatively. He handle
many jobs, some are not related to his writing career. At one time when he is working in an
optics shop, he is fired for being too knowledgeable in his work. The fellow employees claim
that such apposition should not be held by a black man. Due to the frustrations of racism,
Richard decided to join communism. He sees it as a platform for freeing the oppressed. He
believes that his excellent writing skills will be beneficial in the party. He is keen to correct the
party pronouncement and it affects mutual trust between him and the members. He is eventually
forced out of the party and physically assaulted. It demoralizes him from writing and using his
skills to connect with the world.
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I dreamed of going North and writing books, novels. The North symbolized to me all that
I had not felt and seen; it had no relation whatever to what actually existed.... I was
building up in me a dream which the entire educational system of the South had been
rigged to stifle. I was feeling the very thing that the state of Mississippi had spent
millions of dollars to make sure I would never feel; I was becoming aware of the thing
that the Jim Crow laws had been drafted and passed to keep out of my consciousness
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The kitchenette is our prison, our death sentence without a trial, the new form of mob
violence that assaults not only the lone individual, but all of us, in its ceaseless attacks....
The kitchenette, with its filth and foul air, with its one toilet for thirty or more tenants,
kills our black babies so fast that in many cities twice as many of them die as white
babies. The kitchenette scatters death so widely among us that our death rate exceeds our
birth rate, and if it were not for the trains and autos bringing us daily into the city from
the plantations, we black folk who dwell in the northern cities would die out entirely....
The kitchenette blights the personalities of our growing children, disorganizes them,
blinds them to hope, creates problems whose effects can be traced in the characters of its
child victims for years afterward...the kitchenette piles up mountains of profits for the
Bosses of the Buildings and makes them ever more determined to keep things as they
are...the kitchenette is the funnel through which our pulverized lives flow to ruin and
death on city pavements, at a profit....4
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...In many large cities there were sturdy minorities of us, both black and white, who
banded together in disciplined, class-conscious groups and created new organs of action
and expression. We were able to seize nine black boys in a jail in Scottsboro, Alabama,
lift them so high in our collective hands, focus such a battery of comment and
interpretation upon them, that they became symbols to all the world of the plight of black
folk in America.
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