Extra Credit, Ethics of Jim Crowe

The first thing I’d like to say about this piece is that it is more than likely my favorite. While I didn’t find a thesis I think that is fine because it is much more of a story than an article. The storytelling ability of Richard Wright generates interest and pulls you into the story through his powerfully difficult experiences.

Children often get in trouble just playing because their play is actually harmful but what Wright and his friends were doing was primarily dangerous because of the racial repercussions. While he may or may not have liked the other boys the advantage they had and he didn’t was clear. The interesting thing about this story is the feeling of defeat he portrays as his mother goes to the home of the white children to deal with the situation. She then downplays his value based on his race, even though they are of the same race.

When he addresses the jobs he has had it surprises me at the unspoken rules he has to follow or face repercussions, I.E. not looking at the white prostitutes. The rules, for blacks only, are unfair and in some ways ridiculous. The fact that a black man couldn’t even accept help from whites, specifically in the case of the car, and that if any help they “graciously” give is taken advantage of it is grounds for punishment. Like children on a playground the white men who had given him a job to “learn” a trade bullied him under the assumption of disrespect.

I’d again like to restate how much more I liked this article than others read in class. It was a welcomed relief from the often-dry information that is almost legalistic in it’s presentation with a character that readers can attach to. Through this a human element is added that allows readers to sympathize Wright and thus the oppression of blacks not just historically or legally but in their day to day lives and interaction with whites.